COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 70, 18 September 1852, Page 3

COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

The Coming Crops. — Notwithstanding the favourable promise which the commencement of the present ploughing season presented of an extensive width of cropping being placed under seed, we regret to state that later accounts are very discouraging. A gentleman, writing us from Orange, after commiserating with us upon our labour difficulties, thus proceeds :—: — " But your case is no uncommon one. How the wheat is to be put in this year, in our neighbourhood, no one knows. We have no labour to till the soil, and the season is so exceedingly moist that those only who have new land to plough are enabled to take advantage of the~few fine days which occur. If I get my wheat in by the middle of October I shall deem myself lucky." A person lately from the Fish River informs us that very few in that quarter have commenced the agricultural operations of the season, and what is worse still, they shew little disposition to commence. Although by no means too late for ploughing, at King's Plains the boggy state of the ground, except in individual spots, has so far rendered it altogether unworkable, and the small farmers of that quarter are said to be very indifferent about the matter. Similar intelligence has reached us from other localities ; so that upon the whole the prospects of the coming harvest are by no means brilliant. Unless a sudden change takes place, little more than half the amount of last year's sowing will be put in during the present season.— Sydney Empire. Large Purchases of Working Bullocks for Victoria. — On Saturday morning a large mob of working bullocks, numbering no less than 360 head, left Maitland to proceed to Victoria, overland, taking the route to Bathurst, via the Goulburn. These had been purchased for two gentlemen from Victoria within 14 days. We presume that so large a purchase of working bullocks has never before been made in the colony, and these were strictly all working bullocks, all having been worked as such^ more or/less; about 300 of the lot were very fine animals, and many of them were prime fat beasts. They intend' to return for another lot, should the present speculation prove a successful one.— Maitland Mercury. Owing to the great demand for working bullocks for the Melbourne market, a rapid advance has taken place here in their price. We know of several lots that have been lately. sold at £6 a head, and a Lgentleman residing at Gundaroo sold between and' 2oo the other day at £7 a head, cash. The speculation has hitherto been a good one, but, like all good speculations, it can be overdone. A^ soon as the spring sets in the demand in Melbourne will. slacken, as- far fewer bullocks will be required on the road^i We have heard of several teams of eight, with dray, haying" beeii sold in the southern capital for from £230 .to. £300.' ,Horse stock has also takenta-risej and: a middling knacker .is; worth 50 psrcerit:more thaivrt was three months ago. Draught horses are very saleable, and some outrageous prices' have lately been given for them.r-rGouLBURN Herald. .

At Auckland' the elections for the Provincial^ Council of New Ulster were to commence op. the 30th ult. The number of members to be elected is 12 I— 3 for the city of Auckland, 1 for the ' Suburbs, ,1 for the Pensioner Settlements, 2 for the Northern Division, 2 for the Southern Division, 1 for the Bay of Islands, 1 for New

Plymouth, land' 1 for" Taranaki. These elections were creating considerable stir, and 'sharp contests 5 were 'expected.' 1 " "'■' The ' Whaling Stations at the Kaikoras have beeri very successful" this , season, and' whales were reported? 'tb'- He plentiful on the coast. '■ Flour was. quoted in the Wellington papers on the 7th August at 245. to 255. per 100 lbs.' retail; butter Is. 3d. per lb., potatoes 4s. 6d. per cWt. ' ' ' ' , A beautiful service of plate has been presented to Dr. Feiatherstone (late editor of the " Wellington Independent") by the Resident Landpurchasers, as a token of their approbation and gratitude 'for his strenuous exertions in advocating their claims. A Whaling Company has been established at Auckland, with a capital of £4000, in £1 shares. It is intended to fit out a vessel of 200 tons. ' - A newspaper is at length to be published in New Plymouth, the materials for which have been sent from Auckland. J. Flight, Esq., has been appointed Resident Magistrate at New Plymouth, Captain King having resigned.

The conjectures (says the " Nelson Examiner") regarding the election of Members for the Provincial Council are at length set at rest, for instructions have been received, directing the proper authorities to proceed to hold elections for two members for the town of Nelson, two for the Waimea, one for the Motueka, and one for the Wairau districts. We learn at the same time that Wellington is to have 8 members, Canterbury 5, and Otago 3, making in all 22 elected members in a Council of 33 — the remaining 11 to be members nominated by the Governor. We believe this announcement will take no small number of our readers by surprise. Many, very many had concluded the Ordinance would never be put in force, and in that belief had abstained from registering. From this cause, added to a wide spread feeling of contempt for a measure of only questionable value, a very small registration of voters has taken place. We are told only 116 persons have registered for the Town of Nelson, and 130 for the Waimea District; and for want of local Committees to give instructions in the mode of filling up the applications, many of those which have been made are of no value. Persons- qualified to vote for the Waimea District have registered for the Town of Nelson> and so forth.- These mistakes and short comings will teach us a useful lesson, and another registration, provided it be found worth while to register at all,' will show a different result. We learn from the Sydney " Morning Herald," that the Rev. J. P. Gell" is to be the new Bishop of Canterbury. This gentleman has already resided nine years in a colony, we believe in Van Diemen's Land. The Canterbury diocese is to embiace, we are told, the whole of this island. A Bill ' had been 'brought into Parliament to allow the present diocese of New Zealand to be divided, which otherwise could not legally be done. Sir Thomas Tancred, of Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, is to emigrate with a large party to Canterbury towards the end of the year. He has made an arrangement by which he and his friends are to have from the Association such block or blocks of land as they may determine upon ; the main condition being, that at least one half of the portion of the purchase money to be devoted to religious and educational purposes, shall be expended for the spiritual benefit of the persons so buying land. —Nelson Examiner. The Canterbury Bench has declared itself independent of the Government, by passing a resolution that the Resident Magistrate shall not be its chairman, and electing Mr. Godley to the office.

Cape of Good Hope. — The last intelligence from the Cape shows that the enemy is still far from being subdued or driven out of the colony. Bands of marauders continue to prowl about and attack the weak and defenceless, and shocking acts of their barbarity are recorded. The Governor-in-Chief is believed to be' contemplating a combined movement, to drive the enemy beyond the Kei. An official notice has been posted at Fort Beaufort, to -the effect that the Kafir chiefs Macomo, *Sandilli, Stock, and Seyolo, having made war upon the Queen's troops, would not be treated with, but must either surrender themselves prisoners, or go with their people over the Kei, as they would never be allowed to live in peace in this side the Kei.— Nelson Examiner. War in India. — We have intelligence of the commencement of another Burmese war. Martaban and Rangoon have been taken by the combined efforts of our military and' naval forces ; the former on the sth' of April, the latter on the 12th. The enemy, who' numbered 25,000 men," fought very gallantly. The casiiaiities on our side were two officers killed and fourteen wounded ; rank and file, fifteen killed, and 114 wounded. The officers who fell were

Lieutenant Dpran and Ensign Armstrong. The -wounded were— Lieutenant Donaldson, mortally '; Lieutenant' Chads, slightly ; Captain Allan,' severely j Lieutenant IVeyor, severely. "Captain Rundall, slightly (Madras) ; Lieutenant Ford, slightly (Madras); H.M. 18th— Colonel Coote, severely; H.M. 18th— Captain Bruce, slightly ;Ti.M'. 11th— Lieutenant Elliot, slightly ; H.M: 80th — Lieutenant Turner, slightly ; H.M. sl^t — Captain • Blundell, dangerously ; Madras— Ensign' Hawkes, slightly;' Madras — Lieutenant-Colonel Bogle, severely.—^bid.