WANGANUI.

Wellington Independent, Volume VII, Issue 598, 5 July 1851, Page 3

WANGANUI.

{From our Correspondent) Petre, June 2:3, 1801. A ray of Political sunshine, which ultimately dissolved midst a lunar atmosphere, suddenly broke in upon the dullness of Petre, on Monday evening last, (16th June,) in the shape of a 'Public Meeting, and emanating from Major Durie, our recently installed Resident Magistrate. It was respectably attended, but unlike the usual Wangauui meetings, all were seemingly under the impression that "Brevity is the soul of wit," or rather that silence gives consent; consequently the eloquence was limited in the extreme— and the business of the evening left almost exclusively in the hands of the chairman, who evidently made an impression on his " debut " before the Wanganui public ; I can therefore only give the particulars of proceedings without reporting the speeches. The Meeting being duly assembled, Major Durie was of course, called to the chair, who briefly referring to the object of the meeting, viz., To take into consideration the propriety of applying for a certain block of uusurveyed land, situate on the north west side of the Wanganui river, to be proclaimed an Hundred^ The chairman then placed the following question before the meeting for their decision :—Whether the block of land as state;! in the application should be proclaimed an Hundred, or not.—Negatived unanimously. It was then proposed by Mr. Joseph Rees, and seconded by Mr. Handly : That this meeting do authorize their chairman to submit to his Excellency the Goveruor-in-Chief, the propriety of con-1 stituting the Waste Lands'of the Crown comprised in the Wanganui block, an Hundred of that Province —This motion was unanimously adopted. Mr. Joseph Rees offered a few remarks, in highly eulogistic strain in favour of Sir George Grey, and the boon he was about conferring upon the meeting, these remarks however, were considered foreign to the business on hand, though quite appropo to a J. P. ship in prospective, and were listened to with the most imperturbable gravity by the audience nem con. At the close, the meeting requested the chairman to convey their thanks to his Excellency Sir George Grey, in so promptly attending to a matter concerning their interests, and which they have no doubt will materially add to the prosperity of the settlement, leaving it toliis Excellency's pleasure, whether to constitute th-e Wanganui block into one or more Hundreds. After the usual vote of thanks to the chair, the meeting rendered itself no nest REMARKS ON THE EVENT. In constituting the Wanganui block into a single Hundred, it will no doubt concentrate any good likely to be derived for the district generally, and the election of Warden, &c, being in the hands of the people, will tend to prevent any exclusiveness; (the stumbliug-biock of District Councils. The population of the district, though i at present not exceeding 3 to 400 are rapidly increasing, and it may ultimately (a work of time however) be advisable to divide the district into separate Hundreds, but for the present purpose, and any funds likely to be got therefrom, one distinct Hundred of the whole Wanganui block is amply sufficient; yet in the humble opinion of your Correspondent, the whole project of granting Municipal or District Councils, (without immediate and direct assistance from Government) to New Zealand in the present state of affairs and condition of the people, is verily premature, and not unlike putting a 4s 9d gossimer and swallow tail on a puny infant. The contrast between the above meeting and former ones, was so oppressively obvious, that the audience were evidently not electrified but pvlrified at our pseudo

Geologist would say, and the spell which bound, reduced them to the most recipient " vat you please" humour imaginable. The weather for the last month has been unruly in the extreme, and considerably retarded field operations, though in the occasional gleams of sunshine the military are observed fretting themselvesinto a state of efficiency. The schooner Governor Grey arrived about a fortnight ugo from Wellington, she is now at New Plymouth and her return daily looked for. What would tend more to the immediate benefit of the settlement than a District Counei!, is its being instantly declared a Port of Entry, this has been more than promised for some time, but hope deferred maketh the heart sick. Some of the settlers here are rather at a loss to get at thestandared weight, per bushel of grain, as wheat, barley, oats, maize, and will feel obliged by your inserting the weight of such produce, at Wellington, in an early number of your paper.