CANTERBURY.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XXI, Issue 31, 12 April 1862, Page 5

CANTERBURY.

Our file of Canterbury papers is to the sth April, from which we extract the following :—: — [From the Lyttelton Times, April 5.] The past quarter furnishes abundant evidence of the commercial prosperity of the province. Whether we look to the returns of the land revenue or the Customs, the shipping, or the imports and exports, we see on all sides signs of rapid and continued progress. In the first of these items, the progress is altogether extraordinary, no less than 41,315 acres of crown land having been sold, realizing the sum of £82,630, or £66,950 in excess of the amount received during the previous quarter, and only £612 less than the total taken during the" whole ot the preceding year. This extraordinary increase in the land revenue clearly indicates the confidence felt in the future prosperity of the Province of Canterbury, and the intrinsic value of its waste lands, as a large proportion of the amount received during the past three months has been derived from the influx of Australian capital. The advent of these large foreign purchasers has quickened the movements ot the present runholders in the direction of securing the

freehold of their runs, and the efforts made for this purpose have considerably swelled the amount received by the Waste Lands Board. Should purchases of corresponding magnitude with that of Mr. King's, who took up a block of 10,000 acres some three months jaince, be continued during the coming year, it may be well for our legislators to consider whether it would not be for the interest of the community to revert to the original price of £3 per acre. It is clear that the existing price is below the real value of the greater part of our waste lands, as daily experience proves that ordinarily well selected purchases can easily be disposed of, in their unimproved state, at an increased value of from 100 to 200 per cent, within two or three years of the first purchase. The fact of the Provincial Council having agreed unanimously to devote £50,000 to taking up and cancelling the first instalment of the Railway debentures is remarkable in the history of colonial finance, which has generally been more remarkable for aptitude in borrowing than extinguishing liabilities. The Customs returns exhibit very satisfactory results. Unlike the land revenue, they are not subject to rapid and violent fluctuations, and the increase shown in the revenue returns under this department may fairly be taken as an indication of general prosperity. The import trade duriug the last three months has been active, and goods in many cases have been disposed of before arrival. In addition to considerable importations of timber and coal, we have to notice the resumption of sheep importations from Australia and Tasmania .on a large scale ; about 17,000 sheep having been already landed, and some 10,000 more expected to arrive. The trade has been carried on chiefly by vessels of large tonnage, among which the White Sar, of 2,440 tons, is remarkable, having made two trips, carrying over 8,000 sheep on each occasion. On the whole the importers have been successful ; the percentage of loss having been trifling. The consumption of the chief articles of import which may be classed as necessaries has been large, and. the prices obtained have been remunerative to importers. The period under notice, has been the active quarter for our chief export, and two ships have already sailed, carrying 5,147 bales of wool, valued . afc' £134,000. Two other fine vessels are on the berth rapidly filling up, and will probably take about 4,000 bales between them. Altogether, at a rough estimate, we may calculate the past year's clip as 9,200 bales, of the value of £230,000. A great discussion has been raised about the steam postal service between Australia and this colony, and we are promised by the Government a service which, if it will not give satisfaction to all parties, will, at least be a marked improvement on that hitherto carried on. At present the plan proposed by the PostmasterGeneral has not been received with anything like universal satisfaction, but this must in a great measure be attributed to the difficulties pertaining to the task. The gist of the scheme consists in having one service from Sydney to Auckland, and another from Melbourne to Otago. Canterbury and Wellington will have their mails brought from Otago by the inter-, provincial service which is to run fortnightly. The shipping returns at the Customs show that a large increase of tonnage has visited the port. Among the arrivals are included the Evening Star, Mystery, Matoaka, apd Victoria, from London ; three of which landed together 500 assisted emigrants, who have brought their labour to a brisk market. We have also had a favourable balance of immigration over emi-' grafion, to the extent of at least as many more ; consisting chiefly of returned adventurers who had left this province for Otago, and Australian diggers who have made their way to Canterbury, tempted by the high rates offered to experienced miners on the railway, and good labourers all over the country. From the continuance of damp weather, with a very warm atmosphere for some weeks in the harvest time, wheat has unfortunately sprouted in many instances, a misfortune that does not appear to have previously occurred in this province. Flour is now sold at 14s. wholesale for the lOOlbs., and at 16s. retail by the millers. The; bakers charge 3d. perlb. retail, that is 255. per 100 lbs. Bread is 2^d. per lb. The barley crop appears to be on the whoje,, better than the wheat, but the sample is very inferior, having so large a proportion thin and unfit for malting that the farmer is obliged to blow away an immense proportion of the grain before he can dispose of it to the maltster at, all. A large hotel at Timaru, kept by Mr. Saov. Williams, was discovered to be on fire at two v o'clock on the morning of March 7, and the ; whole of the property was destroyed. The building was the property of Messrs. R. and G. Rhodes, and was insured ; but Mr. Williams's furniture and effects were not so. The Railway. — The works of the Lyttelton and Christchurch Railway are steadily progressing. On visiting them last week, we t found that, at the Lyttelton end of the Tunnel a very considerable length of drive has been completed since the date of our last summary, and a short length enlarged to its full size, a tramway has also been laid in from the sea beach to the furthest point of the drive in the hill with turn-outs for the wagons to pass under ground,. On the Heathcote side of the hill the work begins to look like a railway. A brick skew, bridge, the first in the colony, has been car- 1 ried up to the height of the springing of the arch, but it is not intended at present to turn the arch, and the contractors have built a temporary timber top, over which they, are now running their wagons, forming the em--bankment beyond. This bridge has required very heavy foundations of stone, and it is considered better to let the whole work settle and . consolidate before turning the arch ; the brick and stone work is all set in roman cement* The drive of the tunnel on this side is being pushed on, but the rock has proved very hard, all through the past three months. A considerable length has been taken out to the full size, showing what the tunnel will be when finished. In addition to 264 feet! of timberedheading in the heavy cutting in the Heathcote ' valley, upwards of 1,900 feet of. the main ' drive of the tunnel is completed, beidg more, j than 2-9 ths of the whole length, ->