Local Intelligence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIII, Issue 782, 9 May 1860, Page 4

Local Intelligence.

The following1 returns of land under cultivation in the Province of Canterbury have been collected by .Mr. Brunsden fronr various local sources. .The country is ■divided into two districts—the one north the other south of the River Waiinakariri;: The; former of these is imperfect) as it does not include the district of Rangiora. The latter includes all land in cultivation south bfihV Waimttkariri. The amount of land likely to, be broken up for cultivation this year is estimated at somethingover 4000 acres. The Census of Decamher, 1858, gives a total of 14,000 acres under crop, which was scarcely increased last year.: The

present prospect is',therefore 'full: of hope for the agricultural progress of the Province.; ; Land under cultivation South and North of the, Waimakaririj riot including Rangidi'a :—•

■' '"■■ „■';' T,. 9,740: :-..■■- ;:■ ;; 1,750 : At a sale \of sections in the Government township at Tirnaru, held at the Land Office on Monday, twenty-three lots, together a little exceeding six acres, were put up to auction and sold. .", Owing to the very unfavourable state of the weather • few purchasers Were1 present or represented, and the various sections were knocked down at no great' advance on the upset price, in many cases to persons who had come therewith no intention of buying.. The whole were sold at prices averaging about £60 pei> acre. After, the above lots three sections of rural ' land were put up for sale, by auction, according to the provisions of; the Land Regulations in cases: where circumstances leave unsold blocks;of.;' land of less extent tlian 20 acres;; : The'first lot was . N0.,; 2365, .15 acres in the neighbourhood of the Race Course; which.fetched £44. No.- 2367, a plot of 3 acres 3 roods in extent adjointing the ceinet«ry at Timaru realised £22. No. 2387, : adjoining the parsonage and school reserve on the Island, Kaiapoi, 11 acres in extent, fetched £43. The same day a considerable sum was received for land disposed of in the ordinary routine of business. , ; The sitting of the Waste Lands Board for the receipt of pasturage rents closed on Monday morning, when the remainder of the lot were disposed of. The sum received, for the annual licence fees under the regulations is £10,570, which, added to the rents and assessments, paid in December last on the runs still held under. Sir George Grey's regulations, brings the revenue from licence fees for the year over £12,000. This amount is above the estimate adopted by the Provincial Council, owing to the extent of new country taken up during* the year. [ We have much pleasure in drawing public attention to the interesting'fact that steps have lately been taken by the inhabitants of Okain and the surrounding bays, for the purpose of • establishing within their reach a library for the use of the residents in those ■localities. A well attended meeting was held in Okain's bay a few evenings ago, for the purpose of discussing, the question and the ■best means of carrying it out; the result of which gathering was the adoption of a simple but comprehensive plan for the establishment of a Circulating Library and Reading Room, and the formation of-a set of Regulations for its management. A sum of money is now in .process of collection^ to be sent to England for the purchase.of books, arid donations of works are being made by individuals in.further aid of/the object.' The Rev. H. Torlesse, the Curate of the Bays, is appointed Librarian and Treasurer to the fund; with a committee of five residents in Okain, comprising also representatives from the adjoining bays, to take the direction of the work. The movement is; worthy .of the greatest praise. Considering the disadvantages under which residents in the Peninsula labour, by being cut off, in localities comparatively difficult ot access, from schools for their children, and even the ordinary means of mental improvement and relaxation for themselves'which those in more. ■ populous . districts possess, we have to look upon this combined and unanimous movement in the bays as indicative.of ;an earnest intention, in spite of all apparent 'obstacles,not to be left behind in the march of improvement. We trust that all, whether baymen or townsmen, will do what they can to;'foster such a creditable spirit among our isolated and distant fellow-settlers. ; ,

The Lyttelton Chamber of Commerce is to meet for the regular monthly committee meeting-, and also for. a special general meeting- of members, on Friday, at 2 o'clock. ' We have tp remark that the meetings of this body; in either capacity have not been conspicuous for regularity or the transaction of any considerable business since its formation. This fact might to some extent be accounted for by the absence of pressing business to be transacted. On the present occasion, however, the subjects to be submitted to the Chamber are not of trifling1 importance. In the first place, the Colonial Secretary; requests the favour, of an opinion from the mercantile body upon a proposed law of insolvency—a question which, out of the whole public, the mercantile ' community is the most deeply: interested in, and at the same time the mostcompetent to deal with—a question, therefore, on. which the Chamber of Commerce, having.."assumed, the care;of all commercial interests, of a general character, are bound to deliberate, when called upon, if they are to be of any service to': .the body whom they represent. A second subject for consideration is the proposed alteration of the law of Registration of Deeds : also an important part of mercantile jurisprudence. These two subjects are of: such a kind as, we hope, to remove for the occasion some of that apathy which is so often deplorably evident among the, traders of this province upon subjects which concern them rather as a body than individually. ''"

The Bishop of, Christchurch held a confirmation for the,town and district of Christchurch on Sunday afternoon, the 6th instant, at St.- Matthew's Ghurch, Ohristchurch, on which occasion 13 male and 24 female candidates were admitted to communion. His Lordship, after the conclusion of the evening service, and before proceeding with the form of Confirmation, addressed a few words of solemn advice to the candidates, pointing- out the nature of the duties and responsibilities they were about to assume, and soliciting- the intercession of the congregation on their behalf. After the ceremony was concluded the Bishop again, addressed these admitted,^ at some length, and in an,earnest and impressive ; tone. We understand that further confirmations will shortly be held in other districts. '■■ ..: ■

; The formation of Voluiiteer Rifle5 Corps in Lytteltprx and Christchurch proceeds quietly and effectively.; We.mentioned on Saturday, that upwards of ninety.; men ; had enrolled themselves in each .of the- companies; since then a" second enrolment meeting in Lyttelton has added a few to the corps, and that company now musters 110 effectives, with the prospect of raising the numbers to about 140. The Christchurch second meeting will be held tomorrow, when we may calculate on an efficient addition being made to that company to 150 strong. Say, then, that 250 will be the number of the regiment when complete; such a result of the movement will be by no. means despicable. It is pleasing to find, too, that the work is set about in a plain : cool and yet energetic .way, with .plenty of. vigour ; but no mock-heroism. It happens.that in each : town there ■ are some • first - rate men resident,--competent-to act as :.' drills —irien who have; served, iin similar car .pacities in the line ; some of them in the Kifles. These men havei stepped atorice into their places, and; grudging no toil for the object, have formed 'squads' or classes of from ten to twenty each^ into which the ■volunteers "have quickly, formed themselves. .'This, so far, is a/private undertaking, arid,■ is. caused. by a not indiscreet desirepn the part, of every, man.to have mastered some of the earlier-| mysteries of discipline before the first sum- ; mons by command to 'fall- in.' So far,, all prospers, and...theappointment of an adjutant, which will, not be ; jdng delayed, ;will no doubt find the two hundred, and,\fifty volunteers of Canterbury fully prepared ,tb meet him half way in his endeavours more completely to organize the corps. We may say that the adjutant, whoever he' may be; will find his course made particularly smooth for, him by the energy and tact with which Captain Scott, the, Commandant, has initiated the organization. There remains now,but one question with which volunteers can vex themselves; that is—how to procure the uniform/ The cut and material have been1 decided upon, but the stuff required (we speak of the position of men in Lyttelton) is not readily to be procured. We recommend no hurry, and especially no extravagance; looking uponthe uniform as a thing which when done .should be well done—really uniform, each with the rest, in cut, texture, and shade of colour. The getting of such a uniform is undoubtedly important, but it is not the most important nor the most pressing necessity of the aspiring rifleman. The goose-step will go very well with undress. Besides which, hurry will only lead perhaps to a defective result: and we don't want to have to do the work twice over. We would suggest, that the company as nowformed should agree together—for the matter is quite voluntary and every man's consent will be requisite—to obtain all tbe necessaries by one process. The serge for tunic and trowsers to be obtained.in the piece, at wholesale price, from which each man can get his own amount at the least possible cost, and can get it ma.de up either by the tailor or by woman's fingers, as best pleases him; the pattern in every case to betaken strictly from' the specimen approved and sealed.; by, theCommandant, which will be left for inspection, at a convenient place. The other articles;cap, belt, and leggings, would best be obtained complete from the makers, who with a' contract for a number would supply them more cheaply than to individuals, and yet make them to measure. We may here observe ; that the leather which is used, and the buckle | with which the belt is fastened^ are Canterbury manufacture, and first rate of their kind ;so that the volunteer ; movement has, the collateral advantage of stimulating and rewarding,: so far as it can, our home, industry. . We venture to make these suggestions because, though esteeming the uniform to be a point about which, it is unwise to quarrel;'we know it to be one which concerns the future presentability of the nascent corps, as well as the purse and personof each of its members. ' It would be very well, in order to obtain the consent of all those concerned, to have a meeting, of the members on some convenient evening at an early date, when also practical steps could be taken to give all who desire it the benefit of a preliminary drill. V, We are glad to learn that the suggestion thrown out by Captain Scott, for the formation of an Artillery corps in this town, has been taken up. A memorial has been prepared, to : be forwarded to his Excellency the Governor, praying his permission to take the; necessary steps, and also desiring the necessary supplies; This memorial is receiving* signatures from many who look with interest to this branch of the service and are prepared to give their; own services to its support. To complete the number the memorial will be handed round for signature and) then left for a day or two open at this office. ; We desire to. call attention to the announcement in our advertising columns this day of a lecture to be delivered before the Colonists' Society of this town by Mr. Edward Dobson, Provincial Engineer, on "Shingle-bed Rivers

and the best mode of bridging them." This* lecture, we understand, will be similar to that delivered by the same gentleman before the Mechanics' Institute in Ohristchurchin March, which attracted the attention of both the scientific and the iinlearned of our community. The subject of the lecture is deeply interesting to all residents of the .province, and was made particularly so on the occasion to which we refer by the ability with which the. lecturer explained the geological features of the country as a whole, as well as those" points thereof which more directly, concern the rivers and the formation of their beds upon the plain. The diagrams and sketches referring to the various questions treated of are numerous and interesting ; they will serve to illustrate the lecture on Monday night. The weather during the past few days has given us an early and sharp foretaste of approaching winter. From Saturday till yesterday the wind "blew from the south, sharp and biting ; on Saturday night and Monday heavy rain fell with hail; and in the fine nights, before and after, the frost on the open plains was rather severe. The effect upon the towns is strikingly different.

LytteltoiTis swept as clean as if fresh painted Sti'eets^'patlis,; and "gullias show the nak«i stoneCand earth without soil or stain ; and th grass on-the hills shines a.3 with a fresh va nish over its green and y oliow surface. "to* trust, too, that the traces of fever and oth disease which have haunted the neighbourly of late are also washed away. I n Chri c church, also,'no doubt, the general heak] will be very much improved by the salutachange of weather; but the aspect of tl^ town has somewhat suffered. The holes w in the level ground, and the gutters leading to no exit which have been formed in rou P ingl up the streets, are filled with water to tl brim, seriously impeding the transit between shop and street. The worst of these cases referred to by facetious correspondents in o '^ present issue. The truth is that the drama! 1 of Christchurch—even' the surface drainao-e° 6 is no easy matter to accomplish. The flatne~" of the ground and the lowness of the eene' S| levelare peculiarities which have their disal vahtageg'as well as their privileges, the form " of which will be a long and arduous task h any engineers to obviate. A singular feature of the apparently loose formation on which tl to.wnstands is the retenti veness of the soil: wate 6 stands on the surface a'remarkably long n m V after it has fallen; this circumstance tends obviously'to aggravate the evilof want of drainage.: We hope that it may be f oun d possible to take some steps for removing the wprst'part of the evil complained of before the winter, or, it will: undoubtedly become a serious inconvenience;

; ; SOUTH. . JNUUTJti., Vlieai,-.. .. 4 ; 50° wliea^ • • • • %150 Jarley .. .. . 640 Barley.. .. 50 >ats; ..V. 2,370 Oats .;• .. 300 •otatoes .. 1,450;, Potatoes ' .V ; 100 frass .. .. 760 Other crops V *-* >ther .. ■;■■;■ 20 and Grass j ■ u"