Local Intelligence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 511, 26 September 1857, Page 5

Local Intelligence.

A discovery has been made during the past three weeks which adds wonderfully to our knowledge of the geography of the Province of Canterbury, and throws a good deal of lightupon the hitherto imperfectly known formation of this middle island of New Zealand. As usual^ in these cases, the wonder is, not that cu#cumstances are found to he as they are, but that they have not been known to be so long before now. The following facts', taken from the statement of Mr. Dobson, the Provincial Engineer, and from maps and drawings of the localities made by him, will be interesting to our readers. Of course, we cannot give full particulars • such must be left for the official report which it will the duty of Mr. Dobson to lay before the Government. A Maori path has from the first been known to exist from the East to the West Coast, by the gorge of the Hurunui, at what is called Mount Noble, near Mr. Mason's station, Waitui; and from the accounts of Maories, the existence of some level land in the interior has long been understood. A certain precipitous gulley in the gorge above mentioned, which the Maories crossed with flax ropes and ladders, has been always the obstacle to exploring expeditions in this direction. Mr. Dobson in the exercise of his duties and oppoitunities endeavoured to find a passable road for horses along this route, and with Mr. Mason, Mr. Taylor, of the Wairau, Mr. Dampier, a shepherd of Mr. Mason's, and, we believe, another man, attacked the precipitous gulley in question with spades and pick axes. In four days a track was cut by which horses could be led from one side to the other, and the party pursued their way up the gorge, keeping a little above the river bank on the south side. In a very short time they ci^me upon flat land. This was the half expected; country; superior to their anticipations in many respects. Dry, though well watered; open grass country, but with clumps of wood standing upon it and with

corners of the forest running down to it from the mountain spurs; enclosed in hills, but containing, more or less, 60,000 acres of pasture land. A good deal of limestone and puartz prevail in the neighbourhood. The timber trees rre the ordinary varjties of pine and totara, with some white birch. The general level is about the same as the great plain, perhaps at the highest 600 feet above the water level. The main branch of the Hurunui flows slowly along the northern edge of the basin, forming the boundary of the province. On the southern side of the basin another stream of the river flows, and forms an island, which again is divided down the middle by a third watercourse. On all the streams there are lakes, six in number in all, which have been already named by the discoverers ; one of them, called Lake Sumner, on the northern side, is of considerable dimensions; judging from the sketches taken by Mr. Dobson, they are all beautiful, and the valley itself is most picturesque. The valley is not all flat, but contains ranges of low grassy hills parallel to and separating the streams, with several insulated mounds. The soil is of various descriptions, well covered with grass and not at all swampy. There is some spear-grass, but, we need scarcely add when the level is remembered, no snow-grass. A tributary stream falls into the Hurunui from the northward, close to Lake Sumner. The.main stream, somewhat diminished in size, flows into the plain we have endeavoured to describe down a long valley, half a mile to a mile in width, still ornamented by clumps of wood and off sets from the mountain forest. Up this valley the party proceeded, the river flowing smoothly along between somewhat steep shingle banks, and indicating by its slight velocity that no great height was being gained. The head waters of the Hurunui were reached, a low saddle was passed over, and in a short time the party found themselves upon a tolerable stream running westward. They had passed the water-shed line between the east and west coasts, and might have reached the sea without the slightest difficulty. Unfortunately, four days bad weather stopped further progress. Mr. Dobson's professional. knowledge enabled him to mark his progress with accuracy, and to carry away with him the features of the country. We are, therefore, by this expedition, put in possession of the information that the saddle between the Hurunui and the stream running westward, no doubt the Brunner, is only a little more than thirty miles from the West Coast, and, though the highest point of the line traversed, is only about 1000 feet above the sea level, or the height of the bridle path hill above Lytteltdni The road from that point to Christchurcb. wants but very little to be passable for draySjVand there can be no doubt that the West Coasty is equally accessible. A few miles down the Hurunui the valley has a branch to the north west which is terminated by a low saddle, behind which is evidently the river Grey, said by Brunner to pass through a valley 60 miles long and full of lakes. Mr. Dobson was not contented with discovering this country, but has laid out a road of easy execution to traverse it. The whole available land discovered was on Wednesday taken up as sheep run at the Land Office.

When we consider the facts now determined, that this island, instead of being longitudinally divided by a backbone range of snowy mountains, is traversible laterally by a road nowhere getting more than 1000 feet above high water mark ; that this road opens the West Coast to us and passes through a piece of country which, instead of being rock and snow, is a smiling and beautiful valley, with almost every capability for use ; that abundance of timber is thus afforded to the destitute plain of the Hurunui; and that an extensive territory is here added to our province; we have surely said enough to show the importance of the discovery. It is almost too exciting to be told th;it the protruding rock in the neighbourhood, described as abounding in quartz, indicates the more than probable presence of gold. What a splendid location for a township this valley would be, in the very centre of auriferous mountains!

We cannot but expect great results from these discoveries. It must be looked upon as a most likely circumstance that the livers Waiau to the north and the Courtenay to the south divide in a similar manner what has hitherto been called the Snowy Range; though it is by no means to ba looked for that the fwater-shed line will he found to be at such an inconsiderable elevation. Exploration will be found advantageous, for if the West Coast be worth nothing when we arrive there, every acre of land found on the way will g ye room for population and add wealth to the settlement. Yesterday was the day appointed for the revision of the Provincial Electoral Rolls of Lyttelton and Port Victoria. Three objections were made, two of which were substantiated and one quashed from non-attendance of the objector.

The model of Christchurch, Lyttelton, Port Victoria, the Port Hills and the surrounding country, constructed by Mr. Fitz Gerald-and about to be taken to England by him, is now in one of the new rooms of the Town Hall, and will be on view there for a few days. The table, also, manufactured by Mr. Willcox, and presented to His Honor by the Colonists' Society of Lyttelton, will be placed in the same room for inspection. It is on view to the public for the first time to-day.

There are no very interesting items in the news lately received from the surrounding colonies, further than the shipwrecks of which we have already given the narrative. The two Chinamen who murdered Sophia Lewis at Melbourne have been found guilty and executed.

The following is a list of the chief-cabin passengers by the Oriental for Wellington and Canterbury :— Mr. Herman Stapleton, Lieut. Chevalier, Capt. W. D. H. and Mrs. Baillie, Mr. W. J. Baillie, Mr. J. A. R. Greensill, Mr. and Mrs. C. Muntz, Mr. and Mrs. Dodds and child, Mr. A. Macdonnell, Miss Macdonnell, Rev. Patrick Colder, Mr. and Mrs. James Calder, Miss Calder, and 49 second and third class.

From Wellington we learn that six specimens of gold, in quartz and slate, had been picked up .in Karori and Makara, close to Wellington, and brought to town. A party had been formed and provided with all necessaries to commence work on the 16th iust. They had been successful in finding a few pieces of quartz with gold in it, and a specimen of ruby. The ' Independent' makes the following extract from the ' Wanganui Chronicle' of the St^inst.: LA.Tr.ST FROM THE DIGGINGS. If the news received by the Harry from Aorere be correct, and we have no reason to doubt the testimony of a dozen eye-witnesses, one of the greatest frauds ever committed on the public is now in active operation. It is stated that the instances of successful or even remunerative search for gold are exceedingly rare; that, so far from labourers obtaining 20s. per diem wages, only two persons are known to have obtained that sum, that Is. was a current rite; that many absolutely offered their services for food, and that numbers are retained at the diggings solely from inability to pay for their removal. On the other hand one or two persons give a brighter view of operations, and enhance the force of their description by the production of a belt containing a goodly show of gold. It appeared, however, that these men are not bona fide diggers, but engaged in store keeping, and are on their way to Taranaki for supplies. Their testimony, therefore, must be taken with caution at least.