Local Intelligence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 502, 26 August 1857, Page 4

Local Intelligence.

OPENING OF THE SUMNER ROAD

-•The proceedings attendant upon the ceremony of opening this road on Monday were characterized throughout by simplicity and success. By the former we mean that in the process of opening the road there was nothing by way of ceremony further than the progress of a vehicle, containing His Honor the Superintendent, from Christchurch to Lyttelton, with flags, music, horsemen, and footmen, before and behind. By the latter expression we mean that all that was undertaken was done and done well. The constituent parts of the procession assembled at Christchurch at 10 o'clock, the band playing, and banners waving ; and many a horseman tightened the girths of his steed to an extra hole, to prepare for the unknown and therefore fearful journey. The dog-cart, honored 1 as the vehicle to be first drawn from the Plains to the Port by the Sumner line received its precious freight about half-past 10 o'clock, and, with two horses harnessed tandem fashion pulling, and His Honor guiding with whip and reins, and bearing three other gentlemen as cargo, proceeded towards the Heathcote Ferry at a round trot. A four-wheeled vehicle bore .the band, and a perfect cloud of horsemen followed, dotting the road thickly throughout' its length. While this numerous cortege was being put across the ferry, eight at a time, His Honor and the tandem got a good start, passed through the difficulties of the bad ground, the beach and the cliff road, and made Sumner in safety. Here several pedestrians were found who had taken the precaution to leave town early and have a fair start at the hill-side. A triumphal arch of'evergreens had been constructed across the road opposite one of Mr. Day's establishments at Sumner, and luncheon was provided at the inn, of which the whole party gathered to partake. Hence to Lyttelton the perils of the transit were conceived to reside chiefly. His Honor's tandem was again put to, and the cortege, proceeded. The other vehicle came no further, and the band joined the array of pedestrians. There was a sandy flat to cross, and it was crossed. There was a long hill to climb, and it was climbed, two horses, a dog-cart, and four men in it. Here the Lyttelton party joined and fell in with the procession. There was a steep pinch at the top to surmount; it was surmounted, and the vehicle stood on the top of Evans' pass, and the harbour of Lyttelton lay below. So far well. The half and what-is popularly supposed to be the worse half of the hill was overcome ; the difficulty of getting up the hill was, in point of fact, no difficulty at all. Beneath the pass _the road led away by a series of zigzags to its general level; and down these zigzags the dog-cart went, His Honor still sitting and.driving. But the passengers were gone, their weight was too 'great down this bit of steep road. It was said that one of them wished to evade further, progress in the vehicle; i wished to shirk, in fact; but we are able to say that at the last moment he came forward manfully to his post, at the bottom of the 7,ig-zags'. Towards Lyttelton the procession moved on-

steadily. All fear, all thought of danger was gone, and into Lyttelton at about 2 o clock, the appointed time, it moved, not only without accident, but almost without a single unusual precaution against accident. There was a triumphal arch of banners suspended across the spot where the Sumner Road empties itself into the town of Lyttelton, and, passing under this, amid the cheers of a large crowd, the vehicle which had done the deed, full of passengers, and His Honor still driving, with an attendant squadron of gay cavaliers, poured into London Street, then round the town, receiving the enthusiastic congratulations of the inhabitants as it passed along. Much as many of us have objected to this road, its course, construction, and cost, we feel sure that there was not one who saw the passage achieved on Monday but rejoiced that it was completed withoutasymptom of that danger which has so often been imputed to it; and there must be many who doubted, and perhaps still doubt, the road's ultimate utility for traffic, who have at any rate gained by Monday's proceedings the strong impression that, after all, there is some thing in it. But we must return to our narrative. ; , V The end of any great public holiday in any portion of those dominions of one Sovereign over which the sun never sets must be a public dinner; and, of course, in a land so devoted to the support of true British customs, whose settlers are so determined in all points,^as far as in them lies, to imitate the wisdom of their ancestors, nothing but a dinner was a fit conclusion to the ceremony of opening the Sumner Eoad. i Accordingly, soon after the arrival of the procession, Mr. Heaphy's new room at the Universal Hotel was thronged with guests. The room was hastily completed to meet the demands of the occasion and was very handsomely decorated. For its size we may say that the guests, about 200 in number, found comfortable accommodation, and ample space remained between the tables for passing to and fro. The tables were conveniently laid out, and were soon covered with a most comfortable dinner. Indeed the repast was provided in something more than the usual " good style;" it was ample in quantity, excellent in quality, and, above all, well served. In our opinion there has been no dinner or gathering of the kind so well provided ot'so well attended in Canterbury since the settlement was founded. His Honor the Superintendent occupied the chair, and Mr. C. Bowen, President of the Council, the vice-chair..

After the tables were cleared, the Chairman gave the usual loyal toasts, in order, namely,—- ---" The Queen," " Prince Albert, andtherest of the Royal Family," and "The.; Governor, of-New Zealand." All were received with the usual honors, given heartily and loyally.

Dr. Donald then proposed " The Health of His Honor the Superintendent." In the course of a short address he remarked that Mr. Fitz Gerald, not only since his connection with the' Government, but as ah individual colonist before that time, had shown himself eager and anxious to facilitate, the prosperity of the settlement by the encouragement of the public roads and works. Of the great service done to the colony by the application of his talents to this department all present were aware; but there was no instance in which his perseverance against great opposition and against all sorts of natural obstacles was so marked as in the case of the road whose opening they that day celebrated, and there was none for which in comparison of the difficulties encountered so great success could be claimed. It was a triumph of art over nature, and Mr. Fitz Gerald might well be proud of that triumph as the crowning one of his four years' Superintendency. The toast was drunk with the greatest enthusiasm and all the honors. :

His Honoe the Supeeintendejtt, on rising to reply, was received with, a perfect tumult of cheers, which lasted for some minutes. When silence was restored, he proceeded to say that it had often been told him, when urging on the completion of the road which was this day opened, that the whole force of public opinion was against him. That idea was fully contradicted by the feeling which was now displayed. He was certain that the objections to the work had been much overrated ; and that the public had always been, well disposed towards it, only waiting, for a favourable opportunity to declare their feeling. ,., The public and the Sumner Eoad might be compared to two individuals of opposite sexes, between whom a tender sentiment existed in secret, but who scarcely knew of it till some chance occurrence betrayed their attachment. The public and the road he was confident had been in love with-one another all along, but they only now knew it sufficiently to declare themselves. (Cheers.) He would take that opportunity of dismissing for ever two bugbears from their minds. The first was that the Sumner Road was a crotchet of his. The Sumner Eoad was not his crotchet. He had' had a crotchet of his own on the communication question, and he submitted it to the engineers, who pointed out his mistake and he submitted. The Sumner Eoad had been carefully undertaken 'at the first outset, a commission of scientific men had been appointed by the Council to consider the question, and on their report the line was adopted. He believed that no scientific man, either resident or visitor, had ever proposed a line to compete with this. (Hear, hear.) Acting then upon the advice of engineers, he had felt confident in pushing forward the work, and, standing on this basis, he was able to encounter all the opposition he met with. Had he not had all the available professional advice to go upon, public opinion would soon have overturned his plans. He would earnestly entreat the public of Canterbury, in their future undertakings, to pay but small attention to the advice of so-called practical men on an engineering

question, in comparison with the advice of m e of professional skill, engineers educated to theiwork. He hoped the people of Canterbury would always pay homage to science and know ledge. That community presented a calamitous spectacle _ which ignored professional skill and followed in preference the dicta of crude mind and the blind impulse of the popular will (Hear, hear.) He was glad/that in the present instance they had paid that homage to professional skill !x>f which he had spoken, and that the result.was such as they had that day witnessed. He trusted, however, that they would not rest satisfied with present accomplishments. The road must be perfected, and other public works of a similar kind must be effected Eoads were essential to a country; they were valuable in thousands of ways, in many a little matter which was scarcely of sufficient importance to (talk jibout; in fact, they saved money to a country!; he'could name many instances of actual loss of money in this settlement through the .want of the road which they today opened. . The civilization of every country in the world that he ; had seen or with whose history he was acquainted, might be measured by the number and character of its roads, and therefore, he would urge on the people of Canterbury not to be content with the road they had just seen. It was a mere beginning and must be .finished into a high road worthy of the place. The way over the top of the pass was a mere track for horsemen and a temporary makeshift j they must finish the tunnel; that was the line by which the road should be completed. They must do it, for he believed' that in the course of a few years a great flood of colonization would be poured upon this country, and this high road; all that was wanted between the port and the extremities of this province, must be laid perfectly open. The second bugbear that he wished to dismiss from them was the notion that the Sumner Road had cost a large sum of money. It was commonly supposed to have swallowed up all the resources of the settlement. He had heard of a gentleman the other day who, on being asked, said he supposed that the road had cost £70,000; he was happy tosay, that by returns up to two days previous, the road had cost under £7,000. (Cheers.) This was a fact well worthy to be impressed upon the public, since it showed haw,the Government had kept faith in this respect. The road had been promised to be opened, for a cart for £13,000, and tunnel and all would evidently be completed within that sum. Allusion had been made to his return to the colony after visiting England. He looked forward with pleasure and hope to such being the case. Canterbury and its interests were very dear to him, connected as he had been with the colony from the first idea of its foundation. He had been an early member of the Canterbury Association, and had been among those who wei'e active in carrying the scheme into effect. For eight years of his life all his thoughts and actions had been hound up in Canterbury, and he could not fail to be deeply interested in the future welfare of the province. His sole object for visiting England was the restoration of his health, and he would not think of leaving the province did he not trust that he should shortly return to it with reestablished vigour. His Honor concluded with the expression of his cordial thanks for the toast, and sat down amid loud and prolonged cheering. The Vice Chairman gave, with a short but earnest speech, the next toast " The Union of the Port and the Plains." Drunk with three times three cheers, and musical honours. The Chaibman then gave " The health of the Provincial Engineer, Mr. Dobson," the hardest working and best abused officer,he said, of the Government, to whose skill, and energy much of that success which was then; commemorated was due. Drunk with three times three. - Mr. Dobson, returning thanks, said, that if he was, as had been said, the best abused officer of the Government, it was all the greater novelty to be met with such a flattering reception as was then given to him. It was little known what extent of public works had been lately executed in Canterbury. Three years ago, when the Public Works Department was instituted and entrusted to him, there were but eight miles of made road in.the settlement. There might now be properly said to te ninety miles of road as fit for traffic as those eigltf then were. There were at that time no materials, little skill or' experience, and very little money; so much so, that the cost of a dozen wheelbarrows was a J heavy drain on the available revenue. Now everything was in capital working order, and astonishing results had been obtained, entirely out of the current revenue of the province. He expected that at no 'distant time they would . .meet together to commemorate the completion of a still more difficult undertaking than the present; on the occasion, for instance,£of the opening of a high road to the West Coast [laughter and loud applause).'

The Chaibman then gave "The Contractors and Workmen on.the Simmer ;Boad, coupled ! with theiname of Mr.' Hughes; the: overseer ot the Works." To them, as well as to the Superintendent and Engineers, the credit of opening the roafi was due, '„. (A voice ; Three jcheers for the roady mob). The cheers were given enthusiastically, and drunk with vociferous applause. Mr. Hughes, for himself, &in the name of those j who had laboured with him on the road, begged I to express his thanks for the toast. The good execution of any work was always an honour to those concerned in it, but he felt that an unusual share of honour had fallen upon those who were 'engaged in *the construction of ■ the Summer Road; and he again tendered his thanks iO-tbe fname of all the workmen. (Cheers). . i 1 The toast of « Prosperity to the Agricultural

Interest" was then given from the Chair, and jXr Ollivier was called upon to respond. j£r. Oi«'hvieb' said that he wished that the ply had fallen to the lot of some one more able to do justice to that important interest. He did not however shrink from the task through any fear of being taxed with inconsistency in consequence of his having always opposed the construction of the Sumner Road. He had opposed it, for he conscientiously believed that the work would not be beneficial to the country. But the Agricultural Interest was in a very high degree dependent upon the facilities provided for the export of produce. The great bulk of this produce was grown on the plains and was shipped in Lyttelton; for this traffic a high road must be provided. A'ud though he had differed and might still differ from his Honor as to the merits of this particular line he would express without any hesitation his admiration of the energy, perseverance, and courage of the Superintendent in pushing forward the work, (cheers). For the Agricultural Interest he tendered his thanks for the toast just drunk. " The Pastoral Interest" was then given by the Vice Chairman and drunk with musical honours.

"The Mercantile Interest" followed, and Mr. Cookson shortly responded.

" The Maritime Interest" was the next toast, which like all the rest was drunk with cheers and musical honours.

Mr. C. J. Percevai. then rose to propose the health of '■" The Ladies." He did not know exactly what their opinions might be on the subject of the road. It was possible that the loss of the Bridal Path might be objected to by some, but he was sure that the smoothing of all obstacles on the road to the Honeymoon Cottage at Sumner would ■• be hailed with delight by a great number, especially of the younger ladies. Irrespective of this question, he proposed the health of the whole sex as of those who took the deepest interest iri all that concerned the prosperity of the place (hear, hear). ; ;

The toast was drunk with enthusiasm, and Mr. C. C. Bowen responded briefly. He did' not believe that a man required any thanks for performing such a bounden duty as drinking the health of the ladies (cheers).

Dr. Moore then rose and said that Mr. Perceval in proposing the health of the ladies had omitted to couple with it the name of one to whom he knew all present would delight to give honour. He need say nothing to give effect to the toast which he would propose, " The Health of Mrs. FitzGerald and Family " (prolonged cheering.) The toast having been drunk with the greatest enthusiasm, his Honor rose to return thanks for Mrs. FitzGerald, who, he said, had hoped to have accompanied his journey that day and to have paid a parting visit to Lyttelton. He begged to assure them that the reason why she had not come was not fear of the road, nor want of confidence in his skill in driving (laughter); but the domestic duties, that of necessity, crowded upon her in consequence of their proprosed departure for England. Mrs. FitzGerald joined with him in affection for Canterbury and in the hope of an early return to the province (cheers). The Chairman then* proposed the Press; and complimented the Press of Canterbury on the modest and gentlemanly tone which had been always maintained, and on the absence of the scurrility unfortunately so common in the Colonial Press. He also expressed his thanks for the cordiality which had. been always exhibited towards himself, even in opposition, (Hear, hear.) Mr. C. Ward briefly returned thanks..

The health of the host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. Heaphy, who had so successfully provided the entertainment, was then given from the chair, received with cheers, and enthusiastically drunk. Mr. Heaphy replied in a neat speech.

The company shortly after separated,

Resident Magisteate's Covet, Saturday August 22. Watson v. Carew.—ln reference to the report of the case given in our columns on Saturday, we may remark that the whole of the evidence was not before us, from which to compile a summary of the case. It is, however, sufficient to say that the amount of wool sold by Mr. Carew on his own account, representing the clip of his.own sheep and his share of the clip of Mr. Watson's sheep, was 3,240 lbs. net; while the amount of wool placed'to Mr. Watson's share was only 1613 lbs. net. Mr. Carew's sheep were said to be in number 459, and his third of Mr. Watson's flock, 400: in all 859. The remainder, or two thirds of the latter flock, the wool of which should have been Mr. Watson's, were in number 800. It was further shown that of Mr. Carew's 459 sheep some had been killed on the station and some sold, reducing the number to about 410. Wool, of a weight proportioned to the number killed should of course be deducted from Mr. Carew's share. Cn Saturday morning judgment was taken by consent for £47 7s. 6i., including all costs. As the costs amount to above £14, the amount of debt was set down at about £33.

Escape and Capture.—Sullivan, the prisoner on a first charge of drunkeness, and afterwards for an escape, which, with his capture, we narrated at length, insanely endeavoured to escape again yesterday morning, by running away from where he and others were at work on the roads. The police started actively in chase from JLyttelton as soon as intelligence reached them, and Sullivan was captured before he reached Grollan's Bay. Drunkeness and his own subsequent folly have thus rendered this unfortunate man liable to a term of imprisonment equivalent to the punishment for burglary.

T£ c Phoebe arrived yesterday evening from Wellington. She reports the arrival of the Polly from Sydney, with dates to August 3rd. There is no news of interest from that quarter. The latest Wellington paper that we have seen is the ' Spectator' of the 19th inst. The following paragraph is from that paper :— LOSS OF THE HELEN. The brigantine Helen, Captain Hugh Clarke, left Poit Nicholson on the 20th June for Lyttelton and the Chatham Islands, and arrived there about the 23rd July last. When, taking in cargo on the east side of the island, the wind suddenly shifted round to the eastward, which caused the Captain to slip one of his anchors and run for the North side of Pitt's Island, where he anew commenced taking in cargo. The wind again suddenly shifting he ■weighed anchor and ran for shelter to the west side' of Pitt's Island, in Walare roadstead, and there anchored in fourteen fathoms water. On Sunday the 26th it blew a gale from^ the westward, with a heavy sea rolling in shore. Being anchored in. such deep water, the Captain saw that before he could possibly weigh anchor his vessel would be driven on the rocks, —and as he had only one left, —having slipped his other two days before on the east side of the Chathams, he thought it would be better to ride out the gale rather than slip his only anchor, and try to beat off the shore. On Monday, the 27th, the gale abated for a few hours, but in the evening it blew a complete hurricane, accompanied with very heavy squalls and hail storms. Fires were lighted by people about two miles along the shore from where the vessel was lying, at the safest landing place, to guide the mariners if by any chance they could leave the vessel in the boats. The fires were kept up all that night. On Tuesday morning about 2 o'clock, the gale raged with redoubled fury,—the seas lashing over the vessel, when she suddenly commenced driving towards the cliffy shore. The crew then proposed to the Captain to cut away the masts, but he did riot give his consent. The mate then wished to lower 'the boats but it was considered by all to be too late, as the vessel was by this time among the breakers. Immediately after she struck violently upon a rock. The first sea swept the deck of everything, carrying into a watery grave the Captain, his wife and daughter, the mate and five of the crew. Two of the ship's crew, and a South Sea Islander that was employed on board were up the rigging ; —the second sea breaking the vessel in pieces, fortunately threw the mainmast, on which the three men were clinging, on to the cliffs, whereby they were saved from the yawning deep. All they heard was a few shrieks, and all was over. Mr. Hunt, formerly a gardener in Thurndon Flat, Wellington, who resides about three or four miles from where this sad calamity happened, picked up the three survivors'at day-light, amongst the rocks, and conveyed them to his house, where they were carefully attended by Mr. Hunt's family, and treated with all the kindness which their destitute circumstances required. At daylight there was scarcely a vestige of the vessel to be seen. Two of the bodies of the seamen were picked up on the following day, and decently interred. The cargo that had been taken in consisted of 150 bushels of oats, a few casks of black oil; and there was cash on board amounting to £650. The only things found were one cask of oil, and some of the ship's papers. Such are the details of this melancholy catastrophe, as obligingly communicated to us by Captain Blair, of the Esther, from the Chathams, by which vessel the survivors have come on to this place. Previous to this sad occurrence Captain Clarke was in high spirits; with the bright prospect before him of making a profitable voyage to Melbourne.