The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14,1866. GENERAL SUMMARY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1636, 14 March 1866, Page 5

The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14,1866. GENERAL SUMMARY.

The general politics of the colony have excited a somewhat unusual interest in Canterbury of late, owing to the progress of the elections for the General Assembly, and to the fact that from many hustings in the North Island utterance has been given to the hopes and intentions of leading men which seem to us jn the South fraught with danger to our future. The elections within the borders of Canterbury are now complete. The Westland nomination was to have taken place on Monday; and the poll, if one should be required,would beheld on Saturday. As yet we know nothing of the result, nor even the name of any intending candidate, though we have known for some time that it was intended to place in nomination, in his absence, one of the most distinguished politicians on this side of the province. Most of the seats in Canterbury have been taken without opposition. The only exceptions are Kaiapoi, Avon, Heathcote, Akaroa, Lyttelton, and Timaru. At Kaiapoi Mr. Travers was successfully opposed by Mr. J. Beswick, a resident in the district. Avon was won by Mr. Crosbie Ward, against Mr. C. W. Bishop, Mir. Ward advocating the Separation of the colony, and Mr. Bishop the opposite view. Heathcote was the scene of a contest between Mr. John Hall and Mr. Buckley, the Anti-Separation-ist being in this case triumphant. At Akaroa, the former member, Mr. Walker, was displaced by a resident, Mr. Armstrong; and a resident of Lyttelton, Mr. Hargreaves, won that seat from Mr. H. Sewell. The Timaru election was only nominally a contest; Mr. N. Fisher merely went through the form of nomination and retired, leaving Mr. A. Cox to take the seat. Mr. Walker, defeated at Akaroa, has since come in for Ashley, Mr. Lance retiring to make room for him. Of the old members for Canterbury, besides those just mentioned, Messrs. FitzGerald, Cracroft Wilson, and Jollieare returned; Messrs. Weld, Thomson, and Wilkin have not come forward for any seat. Mr. Moorhouse has sat in the House for many years, though not during the last two sessions; he has now been returned for Mount Herbert, formerly Ellesmere. Mr. E. C. J. Stevens, who has been elected for Selwyn, is the only new member who has come in unopposed. A complete list, so far as the returns are made up, will be found elsewhere. During and since the elections, very interesting news has been from time to time received from the North, bearing upon the two principal topics of public thought, the war and the expenditure. In last month's summary we gave a narrative of General Chute's march from Wanganui to Taranaki, inland of Mount Egmont. The General has been petted and feted in Wellington for his courageous and successful campaign, and all classes have united to thank him, not only for doing service to the colony, but even more for removing the stain which Sir Duncan Cameron's conduct had brought upon the credit of the British arms in New Zealand. There is a political as well as a military result to be noticed from General Chute's sue--cess. The people of the Northern Island are now by no means to be persuaded that her Majesty's troops ought to be sent away from the colony. And Dr. Featherston, always the leading mind of Wellington, and. having reaped laurels for himself by accompanying General Chute in his expedition as controller of the friendly natives, has made use of the occasion to announce the views which he has always held, that it would be madness to remove the troops till the war shall be over. He, at the same time, has declared himself a supporter of Mr. Stafford; and has suggested an extension of the colonial debt for the prosecution of the war and the settlement of the conquered territory. We believe that the Middle Island will refuse to grant any more money for either one purpose or the other. There is a subject which will at once test the feeling of the House of Representatives on the point whether further supplies ought to be given for strictly Northern purposes. An arrangement has been come to between the General Government and the province of Auckland to hand over all the confiscated lands in that province to the Provincial Government. The greater part of these lands, but not the whole, had been directed to be handed over by the General Assembly last session. But Auckland is in pecuniary difficulties, and the task of turning the lands to account is expensive ; there are, for instance, heavy charges for the maintenance and settlement of military and other immigrants brought in under the scheme of 1863. The General Government has, in consideration ot these facts, not only handed the lands over, but granted a present advance of £100,000, with a promise to ask the Assembly to grant a loan to Auckland of £250,000 when it next meets. This transaction has excited very unfavourable comment among the people of the South, who are indignant at the idea of being called upon to incur further liabilities or grant more money for no purpose but to facilitate the settlement of the Northern provinces. So far, therefore, as we are permitted to understand the prospects of the future in colonial politics, they consist in a series of propositions very distasteful to the South. First, the land, which was hoped to be a means of recouping part of the Three Million Loan, will be handed over to the provinces in which it is situated. Secondly, the colony will be called upon to grant considerable sums towards the settlement and complete pacification of these lands. Thirdly, the hint thrown : out by Dr. Featherston that some; £400,000 more may be borrowed under the Loan Act of 1863 will probably be acted upon; perhaps, also, under the same Act, a half-million of debentures may be issued on the security of the Waste Lands. Fourthly,

there will be a proposal by the Government to impose a very alarming amount of fresh taxation to meet prospective expenditure. Fifthly, the British troops may be retained. And lastly, there are signs of a strong political combination between Mr. Stafford, Dr. Featherston, and Mr. Whitaker for the session to carry out those views which are common to them all. There are some points on which they differ. For instance Mr. Whitaker, at the head of the whole body of Auckland members, demands the Separation of the colony; but Mr. Stafford and Dr. Featherston profess to be opposed to any such step. Unless the question be held over by Auckland, that province and the rest of the Northern Island can hardly work together amicably. And on the manner in which this and other matters may be dealt with during the session the future of New Zealand may be said to depend. That the Separation of the colony, in some- shape or form, will be a principal subject of debate, there can be no doubt. A great deal may be done between this time and then to lead to a correct decision, but at present there appears to be a great uncertainty of opinion. Some are altogether opposed to the idea; others urge Separation into two complete colonies without any other change of constitution; others consider that an enlargement of provincial powers, and the constitution of all the large provinces into states nearly independent -of one another, would meet every requirement; while those who are opposed to Separation altogether believe in a reduction of the Provincial Governments to the lowest possible grade, and the establishment on an all-powerful basis of the central General Government to administer all the affairs of the whole of New Zealand. As we have said, the coming session must bring on a full discussion of all these proposals. In the meantime, there is one remarkable symptom of an approaching restoration of tranquillity in the Northern Island. The Governor has set out for an expedition into the interior. When last heard of his Excellency was at Napier, and was about to go to Tauranga, and to penetrate thence to Taupo, being accompanied by no Europeans but by natives only, among whom is Te Ua, late the great prophet of the Hau-haus. It is believed that the Governor will extend his journey through the interior on to Kawhia, if he finds himself at all favourably received. Both at Taupo and Eotorua he has been invited to meet a number of chiefs, and he will probably do his utmost to win them over to law and order. The prisoners who escaped from the hulk in Wellington harbour have, with few exceptions, got away beyond the reach of capture. It is announced that all Maori prisoners will be henceforward sent for safe custody to the Chatham Islands but this does not apply, of course, to any convicted of murder, unless the, Governor should see fit to commute the sentence in any case. The British regiments are leaving the colony as fast as they can; but three are to remain, it is stated, permanently in garrison in the Northern towns. The December qnarter's accounts of the General Government have just been printed. As compared with the September quarter, the Customs revenue shews an increase of 9 per cent., and the whole revenue of more than 10 per cent. On the other hand the whole expenditure has been much increased, chiefly by the fact that the heavy half-yearly payments due on borrowed moneys have had to be made in this quarter; and partly also by the fact that the December quarter was the first after the passing of the Appropriation Act. The previous Act had been in force for two years, during which period a large expansion of the departments has to be allowed for. On the half year comprising the two quarters, it is gratifying to find that the provincial surplus has been paid as usual, to the extent of threeeights of the Customs revenue, and still that the revenue is in excess of expenditure by £32,000. The expenditure on loan account for the quarter is also published. The statement shows an increase on the material item of pay and rations to the colonial troops, of from 25 to 30 per cent., from which we have to infer that the forces have been increased in that proportion. The whole expenditure of the war loan for the quarter was £110,337, against £100,886 for the preceding quarter. In provincial affairs there is little change. The election of a new Superintendent is still kept in abeyance; and the three candidate! for the office have not materially altered their relative positions since last month's mail. The Provincial Council has been called for one more session, of the shortest possible duration, in order to smooth the electoral machinery. It met yesterday, and may be prorogued tomorrow. The work to be done is simply to enact that certain electoral rolls are to be formally made out, in accordance with the new division of districts for the election of the next Council. The provision was omitted from the Ordinance passed last session, for reasons stated in the Superintendent's opening message. The candidates for the Provincial Council are coming forward rapidly. There is a prospect of opposition in almost every district; but the only public event in with the elections has been a meeting in Christchurch, which all the six candidates for the city attended by invitation. Most of the six gentlemen were attentively listened to, but a disturbance arose at the end of the meeting from the persistency of Mr. Travers in attempting to speak upon a question connected with the Superintendency election. The gold fields on the West Coast maintain their productiveness, without any remarkable increase in the extent of auriferous land discovered. A sort of rush has taken place during the month to Okarita and southwards, whence the reports are tolerably j [ favourable. The communication by,

coach road between Ohristchurch and Hokitika is announced at last to be almost complete. Next Tuesday is fixed for the opening of the road, at which ceremony it is understood that His Honor the Superintendent will preside in person. The electric telegraph has been working between the East and "West Coasts, with hardly an interruption, and has been of great service to trade. The Interprovincial Telegraph, whose extension from the Bluff by Dunedin and Ohristchurch as far as Picton we have already chronicled, is now close to Nelson. The managing and operating staff are now on their way to that town, and it is expected thatthe line will be ready for messages to go through by the beginning of next week. This will connect the extremes of the Middle Island. Several serious accidents to the wires have happened in places, some of which have kept the line from working a prolonged period; and similar accidents must be looked for from the nature of the country passed over. But for all this the advantage of the telegraph is very appreciable, and would be more so if it were found possible to work the department in any other spirit than that of the strictest economy. A new era may dawn on the telegraph by the formation of a submarine line across Cook Straits' from Picton to Wellington. The cable for this purpose is probably now on its way out from England. In anticipation of its arrival, the head-quarters of the department, under Mr. Alfred Sheath, which have hitherto been at Canterbury, are being removed to Wellington. The Supreme Court held its quarterly sitting at the beginning of this month. There were about twelve criminal cases, and hardly any on the civil side. But the prisons are choked with prisonersthere were 89 persons confined in the gaol at Lyttelton at the end of last month, 71 of wljom were under committal to hard labour. Many have been brought round from Hokitika, where the gaol has been a perfectly unfit place to confine human beings in. The weather has been very fine, but cool for the time of year. Autumn seems to be setting in early. In the dulness of trade, the public have gratified themselves with electioneering excitement, and dramatic or spectacular amusement. A moving panorama of celebrities in every kind of dramatic, literary, musical, magical, terpsichorean and athletic entertainment has been passing through the towns of New Zealand; and each in its turn has exhibited itself for the money and j approbation of Canterbury. There are rumours of high opera and tragedy paying us a visit before long. For other items of information concerning the events of the month we refer our readers to our other columns.