CANTERBURY.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3230, 20 June 1871, Page 2

CANTERBURY.

[TIMBS AND PBBSS.] The Lincoln Township Fair came off on Tuesday, and in spile of the threat* ening weather there was a very large attendance. The number of cattle entered was not large (about fifty), but this is easily accounted for by the heavy roads, dreary morning, and low prrce of beef. For the first time, too, an auctioneer (Mr J. Bennett) attended for the purpose of disposing of all lots unsold by one p.m. Besides the cattle, about 150 sheep and six horses were yarded. Beef fetched from 17s 6d to 30s per cwt. After the Fair the members of the Springs Road Board met in the Lincoln schoolroom for the purpose of electing a new surveyor (the gentleman at present holding that office, Mr S. D. Olyde, being about to depart to Adelaide). There were about a dozen applicants, the successful one , being Mr John Stanley Bruce, C.E., - late of Nelson. It is with pleasure that we notice a step in the direction of harbor improvement is being taken. Messrs Sinclair Brothers, of Lyttelton, have commenced the construction of a slip on the southern side of Dampier's Bay, which is, in the opinion of most persons, the most suitable site for such a "work. It may not be known by the public generally that

on the completion of the viaduct connecting the Lyttelton Railway station and the oea moul (for which, we learn, the contract is taken) the present slips owned by Messrs G-mbb and Allen, and Messrs Louttit and Flett, will be cut off from the water frontages. From personal inspection, we gather that Messrs Sinclair's slip will be about 180 feet in length, with a small rise of about ten feet. At low water a depth of eight feet will be obtainable, and at high water fifteen feet. The windlass and lifting power will be equal to raise a vessel of 250 tons register ; 15 feet of has been excavated upon which to place the windlass ; 100 feet of sea wall facing has to be completed, 70 feet of which is already done. The timber required for the slip is being brought from Pigeon Bay, and it is contemplated that the slip will be finished in about three months. It would appear that good grounds exist for believing that poaching has for eome time been carried on in the gar dens of the Acclimatisation Society, and the assistance of the public is requested in aiding to detect the offenders. The curator has been informed by a reliable informant from the country thau a man, whilst under the influence of liquor at an outlying hotel, stated that he was an old poacher, and had tried his hand at the old trade since he had been in the province. He even went so far as to say that he had caught several pheasants and three hares, in the gardens of the society, and what else he may have captured is of course unknown. The curator has every reason to believe this statement to be perfectly true, for he has missed both hares and pheasants of late, and also some fish Some clue has already been obtained, and the public are requested to give all the assistance they can in the matter. We learn that the trout are expected to commence spawning during the present month, and that preparations h*>ve been made for a large increase of fish. We also observe that a pure bred Angora female goat has been imported from Australia. It is the first pure bred one brought into the province, and •was purchased from the Melbourne Acclimatisation Society. On Friday week a numerous muster of admirers of fast-trotting ponies assembled on the Lincoln road to witness a match for £10 a side between Mr Joseph Heywood's grey pony Dotts, from Wellington, and Mr Alfred Lewis's • bay pony, from Nelson, for four miles. The grey carried lßst, the bay 16st They are 'both well made ponies, but neither of them in condition. The grey had never been matched before ; not so the Nelson pony, who came with a high reputation, and is said to have done its nine miles within the half hour five years ago, and has been the winner of several matches. There was not much speculation on the event, but the bay pony was freely backed at 4 and 5 to 1. The rendezvous was Craythorne's Junction Hotel. Theprincipalsmetpunctually at the appointed time, three o'clock, and shortly afterwards the horses were sent away to an excellent start, the lamppost at Feather's Hotel being marked out as the winning post. The grey took the lead from the beginning, and went steadily along, and never was headed. The bay pony broke shortly after starting, and did so no less than eight times in the distance, and according to the conditions had to pull and wheel round, thus giving the grey a great advantage, who was landed an easy winner by four hundred yards. We should advise the partisans of the contending ponies to give them a wider berth in future, or the referee might have an unpleasant duty to fulfil. There was a match made with the grey against another, but we hear it is off. The grey, we are led to believe, is open to make a match with anything in the country, and take weight for inches. It can be heard of at the White Hart stables.