CANTERBURY.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 551, 22 January 1851, Page 3

CANTERBURY.

[From the .Lyttelton Times, Jan. 11.] Our'first journal of the week must notice the principal events which have occurred since the arrival of tho three first ships, ' .V ' ' When tpe Charlotte Jane, the first ship, entered the harbour, her Majesty's sloop of war Flys, was lying at anchor, having on board his Excellency the Governor of New Zealand, and Lady Grey, who had come down in hopes of being; present at the arrival ofthe first body of colonists. Nothing could be more opportune than this visit of his Excellency, as several important matters were at once settled, 'which, might, otherwise have occasioned great inconvenience to the settlers. It Was obvious that the arrival.of so large a body rendered tho establishment of a sufficient authority for preserving order, and administrating justice, a matter of the greatest importance. . His Excellency therefore immediately ap-pointed J. R. Gfpdley, Esq f , the chief agent of the Canterbury Association, to be Resident Magistrate at Lyttelton, and made nrrangejnents.j'or'organizing ah efficient poli^^f^ji^e'. 4 ; Another question, of tho

greatest jr.ornen t; arose. ( .with respect to ,t the Custom-house regulatieiis, which wore .f fcrjnd in force on theVarriyal.of the set- ,i tiers. Considerable alarm was occasioned . by the fact that high import duties were. •' [payable upon* the goods brought. out .for j the purpose of.settlement. - It was indeed. ' deed ascertained.thai-was denominated > personal baggage was to be admitted free: but that it was.wholly at the discretion of an official, who had hitherto superintendr ed the customs at. this place, to decide what should be called personal baggage, ,and what.should pay duties. . . The passengers on board the Charlotte . Jane, even before the arrival of; the other ships, were full of, anxiety on ..thispoint; so miich so that the members of the Council of Colonists yvho were on board that ship determined before the arrival of the other members, to lose no time in addressing the Governor on the subject. It is quite unnecessary to add that his -Excellency's. s prompt and friendly mter- , ference has svon him the good feelings of the colonists. All difficulties about customs were set at rest, and the goods of the colonists have been landed free,"upon the signature of a declaration that they for private and personal use only. The landing-of goods arid passengers immediately commenced, and has rapidly proceeded. The Charlotte Jane, discharged and sailed for Sydney in three weeks. The Randolph in two days more. The harbour has been found excellent as regards safety for shipping. The oiily fault is the swell caused by the Seabreeze, which renders it sometimes inconvenient for boats to lie along side of the ships; but the rapidity with yvhieh the ships have b3en discharged proves that this difficulty is but slight, and it is certain that heavier sea breezes have blown during the past month than are at all usual. Above 500 ofthe emigrants and some ofthe cabin-passengers found' good ac- ■■ commodatiou in the barracks, and a : week's rations were served out to the ; former. Houses rapidly began to spring • up, every kind of habitation reared its | i head, from the iron store to the turf cabin,! jof even blanket tent. With a popjlationj _ of eleven hundred souls, the town is ac i quiet at night as an English village. Ths j i weather has been perfect,—a' brilliant J 1 sun vvhich neither scorches nor oppresses j Lyttelton itself, however, is too hot and! , too dusty for a pleasant abode; And "of ! all those who have been to 'the-plains,j 1 not one has come back, who does not say that is the place' to live. Some were discontented with Lyttelton ; all are. in ■ raptures with the plains. The anxiety to j go to the plains became great, and though J for some days the strong sea breezes] made the bar impassable, boats are now passing and repassing frequently and with ease/ The freight to* Christchurcli has been high, more then 30s. a ton, but the arrival of boats and boatmen from the - other settlements will probably lower it. Of the road we shad have to speak here- . after, but' evpn when that is finished, 1 most heavy goods will be sent by water. : Labour has been scarce, and wages; very high- Carpenters get "as much as I a shilling an hour; but this partly owing to the fact, that all the labour brought out in the ships is not yet in the market, ! the people being occupied in making • their own houses. ' Provisions are, for a new colony, very cheap. The slight rise on the increase' , of population in a day, from 300 to 1,100 ] i has been very remarkable: meat is only ] ' sd. per lb., bread 7d. the 2 lb. loaf, j Water is scarce "above ground, but! wells always give an abuudant supply! j i During half the year mountain streams t will supply a large town. 1 The immediate choosing ofthe town! " acre sections has been a most important i and useful measure. ' The quarter acre 1 chosen for the college, which was No. 1, ! has let for £100 a year already, and land ! along Norwich Quay is letting for 15s. . a foot, frontage. An excellent family hotel is to be built immediately opposite ' the jetty. [ Of the five cows landed from the. '• ships, tinee have died, Mr. Brittan's by falling over the cliff,Mr.Fitzgerald's and, Mr! Phillips'by,eating tutu. All these are a great loss to the colony, especially the. two former, which were pure Dur- . ham cows. • Mr. Fitzgerald's was from ■ Mr. Bland's farm in Surrey, and had won ; prizes both as calf and as a cow.