CANTERBURY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XV, Issue 1408, 24 February 1860, Page 5

CANTERBURY.

Captain Toohi«- of the Phanlome has favored us wit,! a copy of (he Lyttelton Times of the 15tb Instant, from which we extract the following- :— , ■ What is the gossip of tic ('ay ? In Christchurch the talk runs upon horse racing; in Lytlclton the conversation is pressed into the subject of wool. -Bat ..what js_ ibr.'S- to n.V :ib;>«teither, beyond the very short announcement of certain facts ? The facts which concern the races of yes {ore" ay will be found below in as great detail as the hour and means permit. As for the woo!, we have done great things which (a very small paragraph is suiiiuient to recapitulate. We have despatched, (with the help of Otago) twq_ of the finest ships , which have ever visifed New Zealand, the Mermaid, Liverpool White Star Clipper, and the Iron Screw Steam Shin— the latest fashion in such things — the Royal Bride of Bristol. Both these fine vessels have been despatched to London during the first few days of February, by Messrs. Miles, & Co., to run a race for" first arrival in Britain. Thirty four hundred bales of wool, bowling along under' a pressure of steam and canvas, bulletin?; the winds and waves of the Pacific and Atlantic, hurrying- from New Zealand to offer themselves at the moderate estimate of £90,000 in the May sales of London. ' The picture conveys a fine idea of activity and commercial ertcrprisc; and truly it is creditable to all concerned,— to the province, the shippers, the agents, the ships, a-ud the ship masters; never has New Zealand been so closely connected with England as by the splendid ships now engaged in linking the two countries together, carrying not only mails and passengers but bulky and valuable cargo from one to the other in a couple of months. Talk of steam postal communication ! Had we such a line of vessels out and home, New Zoalaad might, as far as her connection with England is concerned throw all her expensive, many jointed, roundabout direct, steam service to the winds and be better served. On the Suez side at any rate, New Zealand is so far out of the way that ' overland' becomes no moru direct than over » s?a. """We should be puzzled to say of what, besides wool and races, people are talking. To day the Waste Lauds Act of 1858 comes into force in this province, by virtue of which the ordinances passed several sessions ago by the Provincial Council to amend the old waste lands regulations are confirmed and substantiated as ,^-valid at law. The only important point is that connected with the system of pre-emptive lights. These obstacles to fres purchase have hitherto been used iv a way detrimental to strangers ; when an application lor land over which a right of the sort van was made at the Board, the office sent warning to the holder of the riftln, that he must purchase or let his right go within a certain time. The right holder might buy a very small piece of the land applied for, and by that means meet the difficulty the applicant being obliged to apply again for another block. Thus applicants might be put off indefinitely But by the new law, when a right is challenged, the whole of the block applied for must be bought, or that portion which isnot bought is handed over to the applicant. This change simple as it maj seem, is really effective, and will cause the gentlemen who have hitherto enjoyed the rights of preemption to he a little brisk in their movements, the manner in which the pre-emption rights have been made a property of contrary to the spirit of the regulation which first permitted them, is best evinced by the fact' that the holders of them will bargain with a desiring purchaser for the surrender of their rights of pre-emption, and obtain 20s to 40s per acre, according to locality, for giving the permission -• to purchase. Cases have occurred in which the right holder went further and actually sold the land at a grea'ly enhanced price, secure in his power to purchase at his own convenience. This is close sailing ; trenching We think, upon that class of practice which of late years has damaged the characters of certain bankers and others in the United Kingdom. The little steamer Avon, having beea success fully launched, has had her boilers and furnace put in and is rapidly getting. ready for sea.

CANTERBURY RACES, 1860 i

n There is no holiday after .all, which is so unis versally kept by Englishmen, wherever they may c be, as the races. The whole world eaunot equal •' the spectacle of tbe thiongs that find their way j fror.-i all parts of London to Epsom Downs once . a year, to see the Derby race ; and wherever a , course is to be found within reach of our couni trynien, the same blood shows itself, and all i who can get there go. Here at the antipodes, ; with out little lot of thirty nags or so, and our ; three clays a year, there is more interest felt in • comparison to the sport shown than there is i often at far greater events. Perhaps it is that we have no other national holiday, and so we make the most of this ; but whatever the cause may be the effect is plain enough ; — stations are left to take care of themselves, the woolly occupants having been fleeced to the owners' content; farms rest in peace ; shops are well nigh shut up ; and all except a few musty old fellows who never could be guilty of enjoying themselves, turn out to make a day of it. Tuesday morning did not usher in the promise of as bright and snnny a day as it proved afterwards, in spite of the threatening^ from the sou-west of the previous clay; hut at an early hoar the road to the course began to show signs of liveliness. The bullock drays— those essential slow coaches— iiesu-Id the way, the drivers evidentally determining lo get a place sotretime or another;, then come the horse teams a little quicker in in their movements, interspereert witu numerous dusty pecle t'ians, while bore and there a timid rider anxious to get on quietly ; then the horsemen thicken ; and anon a most inotely collection of tiaps, some looking as if they bad slept many years in back yaids in distant lands, and having bee i exported on (he principle ovine ed in t'luse <ff;iisive advertisements headed " Lift off clothes wanted for the colonies ;" some again showing signs of the right soit of thing — evident improvements on last year., enough to make one hopeful of seeing a real drag tooled on the course by a workman before long. Bm here we are at hist ; the Grand Stand and the booths and the ropos.aucl tbe Judge's chair, and (he Peelers with their funny looking cups — which must have; been bought from some unsuccessful contractor for Chelsea Hospital— all looking- (the las lor niohirted) quite cheerful and bright under the ii fiueuce of a sunshiny day. As we look on, dim recollections of the conveutioiiiil gipsy— the girls with their tambourines— the uigger melodist with enormous gills— the knock-em-downs — the cads under your wheels picking up stray bits of fowl and lobster salad — the individual with a parasol and skirt strutting round as " L?.dy Fanny "— &c, <See , float before us and we ask— Where are they ? But hark! the beli rings and there is a rush to see the horses saddled. Forth they come— Old Wanderer's produce three gallant gi eys to con test the prize, with weight enough to kill either of them for a mile and a half, according- to mo. dern ideas ; and then the race is run^aud followed pretty quickly by the second and third, and all the business ef the day, which needs a more detailed description. The management of the course deserved the greatest credit. Messrs. Harris aud Hodgson were successful in all the starts we witnessed. Unfortunately there was up real - -v;.v,'k £>.- tr.c Judge— TvTr. "J. C. Watts Russell — there luring j ho severely contested race to exercise his powers. t The clerks of the scales were Messrs Walker and Brown, and Mi. J. Shand officiated as Clerk ( of the Course, with Messrs. Bruce and Head , under his orders. The assemblage, in spite of a fine day and an attractive list, was not so nu. \ nacrous as last year, many no doubt reserving themselves for to-morrow. We give the rpsult of the races up to the time of our parcel leaving the ground. THE WANDERER CUP, OF £30. I Mr Hodgson's g.f. Nourmabal, F. Day 1 Mr. Gator's Whisper, Mr. Lance .". 2 \ Beeswing also started. i Nounnahai took the lead at starting-, wbicli i she kept with perfect case the whole way round i to the winning post. About 230 yards from the i post, Mr. Lance did all be could V) get a rush ! out unVhi.sper, but there was no answer to the i call, Nounnahai winning easy by several lengths. ' CANTERBURY MAIDEN STAKES. ' Mr. Hodgson's Nourmihal 1 Mr. 11. Wilkin's Cassandr.l 2 ' The following also started, Hawkeye, Bddalmite, Emcralil, X:iiilippc, the Comet, and Fiji g : Shot. • : Cassandra took the lead, waited on by Eine- l raid and the Comet, Flying Shot making thj j running unintentionally for Nourmahal, as he ' kept Cassandra oil" for more than half the dis- ' tance. Nourmahal then took up the running, and a pretty smart set to took' place between her aud Cassandra. A cross occurred about ; 500 yards from the post, from which distance the filly gradually increased her distance, winning by a length pace pretty good. THK CHALLENGE CUP. Mr. H. Traffic's Ultima 1 Mr. W. S. Mo uiiouse's Betty Martin ... 2 The following also started • — Polka, Tamerlane, and Alma. Alma took the lead at starting, but was speedily passed by Polka, Uultima, and Betty, ths former having to give way in turn to the two mares. More than half way to the post the the Wellington m.u-e had it all her own way, aud won easily by several lengths. Polka, a and third ; pace good.