The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 169, 1 April 1854, Page 7

The Lyttelton Times.

April 1, 1854. r We have been requested to call public attention to the notices printed in another column, extracted from the Government Gazette on the subject of irrmigration. The Provincial Government appear to have lost no time in taking measures for restoring a regular line of passenger ships /rom England direct, and are about to despatch a special agent to conduct the emigration in England. Mr. Haiman has been appointed to this office : and it is understood that his duties will consist, not only in generally conducting the emigrations and selecting and approvingl of such persons as may be fit to receive assisted passages ; but also in making arrangements for sending without any delay, the requisite labour and materials tor completing the communication between the Port and the Plains. We understand that he will sail for England in the course of two or three weeks. But the most important part of the plan about to be brought into operation, consists of the facilities which it offers for enabling persons in the colony to assist their friends jn England to join them. This will offer the suiest test of the prosperity of the colony. If the colonists already settled here wish their friends to join them, and can afford to assist them to do so, that is the 'surest proof of the real and solid success of the settlement. And from the number of enquiries which, we hear, are being made on the subject, it is not unlikely that Mr. Haiman will be able, immediately on his aniving in England, to despatch the first ship with the friends and families of those settlers who shall take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Government before he sails from the colony.

The Budget for the ensuing year commencing on the first of April presents a view of our financial condition on which we may justly congratulate' our readers. The first remark which strikes us in considering ? ihis document is that after providing amply for the ordinary expenses of government, we are enabled to devote a much larger sum than the whole of those expenses to three most, important public purposes, viz., Immigration, Roads and Kducation. Whilst the first items amount to about £5.554. the three last have allotted to them £13,445: viz.: to immigration, £10,000 ; to roads, £2,445 ; and to education. £1,000; still leaving a balance of" £7,655 applicable to works which may be recommended by the Commissioners appointed to report on the comrnuiiication between the Port and the Plains. In looking through the items whence ,the revenue is derived, though we observe with satisfaction that the "receipts from the customs, both at Lyttelton and Akaroa, shew a progressive improvement/it will be seen that the source from whi h we are enabled to appropriate so much to public purposes, is" the balance of the land fund payable to the Provincial Government." This money, it will be remembered, has been accepted by the Provincial Council under protest: it is, in the words of the Ordinance, *' To be taken and deemed to have been advanced out of the laud revenues of the colony of New Zealand to the Province of Canterbury, and shall be accounted for to the General Government of the said colony in such manner as the General Assembly shall by any laws or Ordinances enacted in that behalf, direct." We have repeatedly insisted on the great value of the public lands from which this first instalment has been received, and we trust that a wise administration will make them long a productive feature in oiir Budgets. If was said above that fitting1 provision was made for the ordinary expenses of Govern-

ment,and an examination of the items under Uns head will show such to be the cese. Ihe salary of the Superintendent's will be seen from our reports of the Provincial Council last week, has properly, we conceive, been increased from the very moderate sum voted at His Honor's request, a sum which is universally allowed to be inadequate to the services required. The duties of Provincial Secretary, which have hitherto been discharged by His Honor in addition to those cf his own office, are found to require the appointment of a separate officer with a salary of £300. We are also to have a more efficient inspection of sheep under the Scab Ordinance of last session, £400 being allotted to this department. The other items of the ordinary expenditure do not seem to call for special remark. Of the three items of extraordinary expenditure, the purposes to which the Immigration fund is applicable will be understood by the ins.tructions,;which we give in another column, from the Gazette, and we need only add under this head, that Mr. Harman is to proceed to to undertake the duties of Emigration Agent, for which his acquaintance with the circumstances of the colony ought to render him well fitted. The items of the proposed expenditure ui.der the head of public works are interesting to all. The bridle-path gets £150; the Papanui and North road, £465 j the Harewood, including the Riccarton road, £530 ; the Akaroa bridle path, £400 ; the ferry over the Rakaia, £300; current repairs of roads, £100. Besides these, we have £300 allotted for the Commission on the communication between the Port and the Plains, and a reward of £.100 offered for the discovery of coal within a .mile and a half of the sea. These items amount to £2,315, leaving a balance of £7,655 applicable, if thought desirable, to works for opening the communication.bet.ween the Port and the Plains. Of the £ 1000 appropriated to the advancement of Education, a portion it is proposed to expend in improving our present schools, including the Grammar School at -Christchurch, the other portion will perhaps be expended in starting fresh schools if competent teachers can be found. A favourable opportunity to supply this need presents itself in the proposed Emigration scheme. As ships will be coming out with steerage passengers, it would prove of immense advantage if each ship should bring over a well-trained schoolmaster and mistress, who, besides instructing the children during the voyage, should be invested with some authority to preserve order and regularity between decks, it being understood that immediately on their arrival in the colony, they would be engaged in their professions.