CANTERBURY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1789, 8 November 1862, Page 3

CANTERBURY.

By the Wild Ware, we have received our usual files of Canterbury papers up to the ls f instant, from which we have taken the following extracts : — Steam. — The public of Canterbury are about to realise how great an injury the recent wrecks of steamers have done to the postal service. The grand scheme for connecting the southern provinces with both Sydney and Melbourne is, we fear, more than likely to fail. As yet the Government have received no tenders for the service. Before the loss of the Lord Worsley, the I.C.R.M. Co. would have tendered alone ; after that mis fortune Captain Hall endeavored to open a negotiation with the A.S.N. Company to put in a joint tender, but that company loat the Prince of Wales, and has now no spare boat, so that we may expect that the Uangatira, after her two successful essays, to the mutual satisfaction of owners and public, will, of necessity, he withdrawn. The Cook's Straits boat from Sydney to Wellington will continue to run, and the contracts vow existing for the service between Melbou tie and Otago will be renewed on a more advantageous footing. It is thus evident that for some time to come no amelioration can take place in the posiI tion of Canterbury. While learning how to be satisfied with these two channels of communica- [ tion, and how to adapt their business relationships to them, the public will realise the. great moral that, for the safety of all they entrust to the waves, the coast must he well and speedily lit.— Ly Helton Times. Nov. 1. Gold on the Opawa. — With regard to, gold prospecting on the Opawa, we understand that a resident of Timaru, accompanied by two experienced New Zealand diggers, proceeded to the Opawa last week, and was sue -essful in finding not only the color of gold, but also a few large specks of apparently rough reef gol I, We hear that a more persevering search is likely to be undertaken in consequence,— lbid. A Native Exhibition. — Our Nelson correspondent writes as follows : — This proviuce has long been noted for conceiving all sorts of promising schemes, and the latest is one hatched in the brain of our Native Interpreter. Having heard of the success of an Auckland doctor in Australia, thin official propose? to' make a fortune in England in a similar way, by exhibiting a troupe of Maoris with their war dresses, &c. He has, it is sail, persuaded fonror five other Nelson ians tojoin him, and to pay down 4*500 each, and these Nelson Barnums are going to astonish the Londoners at the Egyptian Hall and elsewhere, an 1 expect to return to the land of their adoption with a profit of £50.000. The Maoris are to have a share of the profits ; and as they go under the charge of an old missionary, it may even paj them to appear on fcne platform at Exeter Hall, and support the views of Canon Stowell and hi* followers. — Ibid. Thf Deep Water Jettt. — Wo are sorry to see in a late number of the " Press," an article on the proposed deep water jetty, condemning the proposed work as likely in a few years time to be rendered useless by the rising of the bottom of the harbor, and asserting the startling proposition that the railway must be carried on to Gollan's Bay at a ruinous cost as the only means of giving requisite accommodation for discharging large vessels without lighterage. Putting aside the very questionable taste displayed in thus publicly attempting to depreciate the character of the port, we would deprecate the manner in which without waiting to ascertain the details of the plan about to be brought forward by the Government, and for the examination of which a select committee has been appointed, the ' Press ' pronounces a decision on one of the most important questions that haa yet been brought before the Provincial Council. Whatever ditlerence of opinion may exist as to the merit of the plans proposed by the Provincial Engineer for the improvement of the harbor, Mr. Dobaon's reputation both for professional ability and personal integrity, forbids the supposition that any plan would be brought forward by him without its having been first carefully considered in all its bearings, or that he would lend his name to any scheme merely to serve the interests of party ; and therefore notwithstanding the startling assertions of our contemporary, we are content to wait for the report of the Harbor Committee before attempting to give an opinion on so important a subject, feeling sure that the interests of the port are safe in fhe hands of the Provincial Council, and that no steps will be taken without the fullest investigation of the whole question. — Ibid. The Moa. — The greater part of a skeleton, supposed to be the remains of this remarkable bird, was discovered on Tuesday last, by some workmen employed in excavating for the approaches of the new bridge over the Heathcote, The spot where the bones were discovered is where the old ferryman's hut used to stand some years ago on the east side of the bend of the river. The skeleton was found about lf> feet below the surface, and appears to have undergone a complete process of putrefaction, several of the bones being encloed in a etonoy case some inch and a half in thiekQjss. We hear that it ia the intention of the coutiuetors to present these ralics of a past age to the Philsophicai Institute. — Ibid.