CHRISTCHURCH.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IV, Issue 179, 10 June 1854, Page 7

CHRISTCHURCH.

Saturday, June 7. A meeting for the purpose of selecting a proper person to recommend to the Government to fill the office of Scab Inspector was held this day at the Royal Hotel, according to advertisement. There were 4 candidates, Sir W. Congreve, Mr. J. D. Brittin, Mr. Henry Charles Young, and Mr. E. Knapman, veterinary surgeon. The two firstnamed only were formally proposed. Mr,. M. J. Burke having been called to the chair, Mr. John Hall then addressed the meeting, suggesting the propriety of an adjournment, which would give time to enquire into the qualifications of'the several candidates, and concluded by moving " That this meeting be adjourned for a fortnight, in order to give stockowners the opportunity of becoming better acquainted with the candidates who have offered themselves for the office of Scab Inspector." This was seconded by Mr. Watts Russell. Mr. Higgins proposed the following amendment, which was seconded by Mr. Pearson, and upon a show of hands carried. " That the business for which this meeting had been called together be at once proceeded with." Mr. Higgins then proposed Sir William Congreve as a fit person to recommend as Scab Inspector, which was seconded by Mr. Pearson. Mr. Brittin was proposed by Mr. -Creyke, and seconded by Mr. John Hall. Mr. S. Bealey again pleaded the necessity of delay, and alluded to the absence of a very influential stockowner, Mr. Rhodes, of Rhodes' Bay, who with many others, no doubt, had been kept from attending the meeting by the severity of the weather. He considered it only just that the meeting should not positively decide upon any party under such circumstances, and moved the following amendment, which was seconded by Mr. J. C. Wilson. " That the votes of those present be taken down, and that a day be appointed, on or before which the votes of persons now absent should be received.' 5 After some further remarks from Messrs. Higgins, J. C. Wilson, S. Bealey, J. Hall, Mr.Beswickmoved as a further amendment: " That the voting to-day be final." Which having been seconded by Mr. Hazlewood, and carried, the Chairman commenced taking the signatures of the flockmasters present, when the result of the voting was found to be : — For Sir William Congreve 21 Mr. J. D. Brittin .....' 9 Thanks were then voted to the chairman by acclamation, and the meeting broke up. Names of Sheepoiuners who voted in favour of Sir William Congreve : — J. S. Caverhill, Joseph Beswick, J. M'Farlane, M. Le Fleming, Rich. Hilton, Geo. W. Hall, Robert Higgins, James Row, Chas. C. Hazlewood, T. ..*V. Hall, John Stndholme, W. K. Macdonald, Robert Waitt, Geo. Gawlor Russell, A. Hornbrook, Joseph Pearson, Thomas Saunderson, Thomas Ellis, James Balfour Wemyss, G. W. Mallock, Gustavus Gartner. Names of those who voted in favour of J. D. Brittin—W. B. Bray, John Hall, Richard Westenra, Justin Aylmer, Alexander Lean, A. R. Creyke, Samuel Bealey, J. C. Watts Russell, Thos. Rowley. We understand the Provincial Government has appointed Sir William Congreve luspector of Scab for the Canterbury Province, and that the appointment will be gazetted without delay.

To the Editor of the Lyltelton Times . Sib, —There is an old saying, " when we have gold, we are in fear; when we have none, we are in danger." Now it seems to me that we are in such a case in reference to the proposed communication between the Port and the Plains. The Provincial Council are in possession of so much funds, they seem hardly to know when and where or how to squander them fast enough, and so we are threatened with a road from the Port to the Plains round by Sumner. In the present infant state of our colony we are to expend some £25,000 or £30,000, or possibly £150,000, on the construction of a road which shall afford relief to those who cannot ride, by giving them the choice of I2i miles over 8. But I had forgotten, it is to be a great work, worthy of the Provincial Council, and more -worthy of the engineers—there is honor to "fbe achieved by it, there is a reputation to be attained, there are names to be perpetuated, and there are perhaps plums to be picked up on the road. It is early to expect the soil to yield much fruit as yet, and therefore, lest there should be disappointment in this direction, let me advise the consideration of some simple, less costly, and perhaps lets grand a scheme. That communication of an easy character is most essential, no reasonable man can deny. Let him who does, be required to pass from the Plains to the Port, by way of the Bridle-path, but once a week, and there would be an end to his opposition. That it should be immediately opened up, too, is equally important to the prosperity and welfare of this division of the colony. It is most material as enhancing the value of property, and it will open up at once an important market for consumption and supply, and this is what we all need; but great as these advantages are, "we may pay toodear for our whistle." I would venture to suggest a line of road I think not difficult of accomplishment. Let us then take London Street as our starting point, and continue that road on to Captain Simeon's, levelling.it, or causing it to rise gradually to the level of his entrance gate ; irom thence we would pass along the gul!ey at the back of Dale's house, slightly increasing the gradient so as to occasion a less abrupt rise up the side of the hill to meet the present Bridle Path at or about the point where you first lose sight of the town. Let us then proceed a little further along this road, and then blast the rock down to our stopping point which would be thereabouts. We might then have a good level road for some distance, and one which at a reasonable expense would enable us, free of danger either to life or property, to travel along at any and all times with drays, carts, carriages, and cattle, aud, what is of general importance, bear in mind, to the labouring men, would also afford easy communication to those who possess neither the one nor the other of these luxuries. I don't think I underrate the matter when I say that thirty men kept to this work would accomplish it in two years, because I am inclined to think thatfthe rocks would not prevent so formidable a barrier as some suppose. There may be solid stuff to.blow away, but there would be perhaps more smoke and more dusfc from the small particles to be removed. The whole of this would be usefully employed in the construction of the road below, and could be quickly and inexpensively thrown down. Let us then suppose that it is possible for these thirty men to construct the road, how would the case stand ? Allowing a liberal sum for an experienced engineer, and a fair amount for incidental expenses, and £3 per week for each man, the cost at the expiration of the two years may be stated at £11,000.

As an inducement to get the work done in the time, and to ensure really good working hands, I would propose to act with liberality towards them; and I would further suggest that to each of these men, or to those of them who stayed by their work, should be given, on its completion, 100 acres of land in the vicinity of the supposed coal mines, or in the mineral districts ; the cost would be but trifling to the colony. 3,000 acres at 10s. would only be another £ 15,000, while ulterior advantages might^ arise to the colony from the opening up by practical minds the treasures of the' interior, now' lying dormant for the want of such labour to bring them to light. We depend much more, in our present state, upon labour than upon capital: the latter is an essential element: perhaps in all things, but it is of no use without its great and invaluable helpmate —labour. Capital, in old England, is the pampered and spoiled child, used to all sorts of luxuries, and accustomed to- be waited upon hand and foot by his dependant cousin, labour, and in a colony he cannot get on without him. Wh:le here Labour is that free, saucy, and independent fellow, bearing all manners of hardships, who settles himself as he lists, and feels the chain of his dependance is broken; he is no longer constrained to seek aid or starve, nor has he the fear of a workhouse or a prison before his eyes. But, " revenons a nos moutons," here is a total of £12.500. Now let us add to this sum the further one as estimated by the " Honorable Board of Commissioners " of £2,500 for the bridge across the Heathcote, and we have a total of £15,000 against the minimum of £25,000 for the Sumner Road. The line proposed will be shorter than any, but it will not possess the merit of throwing away all that has been expended upon the Bridle Path, although perhaps it may nearly do so ; while it may afford to the Port the fullest benefit which all good Lytteltonians can desire: Whether these are important or unimportant features in the case, I must, for the pi'esent at least, leave for shagroons, or other more competent persons than myself, to determine. The Sumner interests are so greatly before those of the Port town, they certainly ought not, in such an undertaking, to be treated with coolness or contempt. If these suggestions are worthy of notice, I shall be contented. Possibly the Provincial Council may consider them important enough to induce them to appoint another Commission. If so, let me hope that it will be formed of men of business, not merely engineers, I don't hinkwe ought to run the risk of chain bearers at a guinea a day !! I fully and entirely agree with you that the best road is that which is possible with the means at our command. I wmld venture to make one more suggestion in reference to the funds. Why should not the Provincial Council ask the Government to issue paper money, upon the security of the road, for the amount required ? "A moderate toll might be taken for all carriages and cattle using the road, and possibly of the human animal also; the proceeds should be applied to the liquidation of the debt; but if this did not realise a sufficient sum to enable the Provincial Council to discharge the liability, which ought to extend over some fii'teeu or twenty years, seeing that it is a work not alone beneficial to the present genenvion, the balance might be voted from the cash box of the Provincial Council. I ought to apologise for intruding at so great a iength upon your columns ; it is an error that, not unreasonably may be attributed to the peculiar '" greenness" ot Your obedient servant, A Pilgrim of the Plains.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sin,—Whilst our representatives are attending the meeting of the iirst Parliament of New Zealand, conjectures are rife in the different Provinces us to the probable course they will pursue and the probable objects they will aim at. The discussion of such subjects must be beneficial, inasmuch as it tends to a better understanding of the principles of our Constitutional Government. I propose to touch upon one or two of the topics of most interest to us all, which the General Assembly will have to deal with, and which have been comparatively but little discussed here; and Idoso in the hopes of leading to a more general enquiry which may enable men to form opinions on them for which they can give a reason. One very important question, that of the management of the land department, has been written about and talked about usque ad nauseam, because it immediately touches every man's pocket; but there are olher questions of a more general and less immediate character which will affect all others, and which must be settled before any definitive legislation can give a feeling of security to the inhabitants of the New Zealand Provinces. One of the most important of these is the question of the Constitution of the Upper House of the General Assembly. To find a substitute for the prestige which an ancient aristocracy can give is a difficulty which all the British Colonies have felt. Each is circumstanced in some peculiar way which makes the scheme that answers in one unlit for another. Crown Nomineeism we have found to be an utter failure. The Constitution of the present Upper House is looked on as a solemn farce. Representatives for life would not be tolerated in a young colony where changes so rapid and complete take place every few years ; and to find a system of representation which should unite all that is required in the formation of an Upper House would be almost impossible. We want a House that should carry with it weight and dignity sufficient to make its decisions respected by the people: unless this is the case it will be either powerless and despised, or tyrannical and hated. In the first case, the Crown will have to bear all the odium of rejecting the hasty and crude measures of the Lower House ; in the latter, the Upper House will be crushed by a bitter explosion of popular feeling, and will carry with it in its fall all faith in the integrity and honor of most of our public men. An Upper House should be of a more permanent character than the Lower House, and should not be elected by the same constituencies. It should be smaller than the Lower House, mid should represent the provinces equally, and not in proportion to their population. It should he acted upon by popular opinion as surely but less directly than the Lower House ; so" that whilst sheltered from every passing breeze, it way bend in time to the storm. I would propose a scheme for the consideration of the public which, startling as it may seem at first sight, would, I think, meet all the exigencies of the case ; and if objections raise themselves, it will be but fair to consider what objections muy be brought against any plan that can be advanced. ! Objections there are sure to be ; the question is, what scheme presents the fewest. The plan I allude to is simple in machinery and easily worked,—That the Superintendent of-eadi province should, ex officio, hold a seat in the Upper House, and that he should nominate two members from his own Province as his colleagues, to hold their seats as long as he did j himself. Thus a house of eighteen members would be obtained, carrying a weight and dig- j nity with it which could be obtained in no other way, and representing each province in equal proportion. The number of course might be slightly extended when the wants of the colony required it. As far as I can gather from the general tone of public feeling on political subjects, the immediate objections made to this scheme would be something to the following effect:— (1). That it would continue the principle of Nomineeism, merely substituting the Superintendents for the Governor as nominators. (2). That such a system would throw too much power into the hands of the Superintendents. (;;). That the Superintendents ought not to leave their provinces, and that the imposition of such duties upon them is not in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution Act.

(4). That the Upper House ought to be of a more permanent character. These are tangible objections which I know will be made at once; which, indeed, I have heard started at the mere allusion to such a scheme; and in endeavouring to answer them, I think I may be able indirectly to meet others which I cannot so readily suppose. The two first may be considered together. The first is that the scheme leaves the principle of noinineeism untouched, and that it would only substitute the Superintendentsin the place of the Governor; and the second, that too much power would be thus thrown into the hands of the Superintendents. Now there is no analogy between nomination by the Crown and nomination by an officer representative of, and responsible to, the people. It might as well be argued that an Upper House elected by the Lower would be a mere nominee Council. The Superintendents would be strictly responsible for the choice they made; and their own position, and consequently the seats of the Councillors chosen by them, would be dependent upon the approval of the people as expressed by their representatives in the Provincial Councils. The nomination of his colleagues iv the Upper House would become one of the most responsible duties of the Superintendent. Thus we should have an Upper House elective, but in a different manner from the Lower House. The man elected for the chief office in the province by the confidence of his fellow citizens, would be more likely to choose dispassionately the best men for the office than a popular election with all its party passion and tumult would decide upon. In Tact he would stand in the place of the colleges elected in America for the choice of the President, His power would not be increased in so large a ratio as his responsibility ; and at the worst both he and those appointed by him can be got rid of together. It is true that the Provincial Councils might elect the members of the Upper House instead of the Superintendents, and that thus the principle of an equal election from each of the provinces might be kept up ; but this would increase the complication of the machinery of legislation which is already very intricate for so small a colony as New Zealand. The chance of party feeling in the election would be much greater, and the public would not be able to make such a body as the Provincial Council so immediately responsible for its actions as it could the Superintendent. As to the objection that such a duty is not compatible with the office of Superintendent, I would ask what are the duties of the Superintendent as laid down in the Constitution Act? According to that Act he is only a legislative officer in his own Province; and it is left to time and experience to determine what other powers should properly he confided to him. It has been found expedient to give him large executive powers, but the details of such executive functions must be managed by a Provincial Secretary. The head of a Government must be left free to study the general principles of the measures which are carried out, and to take a large and comprehensive view of the politics not only of his own little State, but of the whole of the colony of New Zealand. And this cannot well be done unless he is in some measure identified with the General Government. Otherwise there will be danger lest the Provincial Governments become antagonistic to instead of fellow workers with it. The meeting of the Superintendents with each other, and with the representatives of the people from the different provinces, will go farther towards a cordial co-operation between the different Governments of New Zealand than anything else could. Call such an Upper House if you will, a House of Superintendents: I do not think you could have a better one. It ought to be a house of the best men, of the "Ap«rroi of New Zealand. If such ends are to be obtained, surely the absence of the Superintendents from their provinces for a couple of months every year or two can scarcely be considered a serious stumbling block. Because the Ordinances providing for the absence of the Superintendents passed at Wellington and Canterbury have been disallowed on account of technical difficulties ; this is no reason that no other provision can be made. It seeirs preposterous to say that provinces not much larger than Yorkshire, with populations as large as moderate country towns in England, cannot sret ion for two months without the bodily presence

of the chief legislative and executive officer. Grant the expediency of what I have before advanced, and this last objection cannot weigh for a moment in the balance. While on the subject oi the duties of the Superintendents, I may mention oiie consideration which ought to weigh rather with the individual provinces than with the General Government—that is, the securing of the best men for the Superintendences. It is not likely that, in future, such men will undertake an office which would debar them from all share in the legislation for the colony at large. Now, indeed, when all is new, when the interest and excitement of setting the political machine in motion awakens every energy, we find them ambitions of filling the office;" but this will not be the case in a few years, if we leave them nothing upon which to exert their talents, but the hum-drum routine of' a Provincial Government. It would be unfair on them and a loss to the public. Our ablest and most prominent men will stand aloof from the Superintendency —they will cany all their weight to the General Councils —the Superintendents will become petty Lord Mayors, and the Provincial Councils weak corporations. It is the weight of the men who fill it that will uphold the dignity of the office. And if the Superintendents are to attend the General Assembly, there can be but little doubt that their proper place is in the Upper House. It is not a decorous sight to see the Chief Officer of Government standing in a contested election perhaps against an inferior officer of his own Government. An elected Superintendent is a strange anomaly, whether for good or evil, time will decide. Let us make the best use of the system we have got, and send the man elected by the whole province to represent the whole province in the Upper House. Once upon a time when the Beasts held council together they determined to elect a prince to preside over them ; but, being of a very democratic frame of mind, they decided that he should give up all active participation in their councils, and that he should only sit and look digniiied. They offered the throne first to the lion, but he said, " Shall I give up my present position as noblest of the beasts, and leader in their enterprises,'to accept a mere empty honour?" And so, likewise, iri th6i'r turn, said all the nobler beasts. But the Fox, when his turn came, said to himself, " What magnanimous fools ! They may be wiser, but they are not so cunning as I am. There will be princely pickings in this same office which they all refuse, although not much honour! Hurrah for the pickings! If lam not fit to be their prince and leader, that is'their look out, not mine." If you find a moral in this fable, apply it, my readers. Now with regard to the permanency of such a House, it may be said that it would be of too constantly changing a character. If the whole House were to be changed as often as a part of it would be dissolved, this would certainly be the case. But it is iv this point that, to my mind, the great strength of the whole plan lies. It is not to be supposed that all the Provinces will have their Councils dissolved, or get rid of their Superintendents, at the same time. The House will never, therefore, be entirely new; and while all the latest popular feelings will find their way into it from time to time, it will enjoy a certain prestige of stability and experience which will give it weight and importance in the eyes of the Lower House, and of the country at large. A compromise, necessary in a new country, will be effected between permanence and progress. It will carry a remedy in its own constitution, which will obviate the necessity of indiscriminate " swamping" or of external pressure. One great advantage in this plan I have but slightly alluded to, that is, the representation by provinces, instead of by the number of the population. Each House would thus act as a check on the other. In the lower House the larger and wealthier Provinces wouid have the preponderance which is due to them as the largest tax-payers, and the constitution of the Upper House would prevent the undue oppression of any of the smaller states by a more powerful neighbour. This is one of the provisions of the American constitution, and one which has been found at several important crises a very efficient one. The mention of American example may lead us to think of a very important subject to us— the union and cordial co-operation between our Provinces. We, the youngest, cannot do better

tlian to look back to the oldest of British colonies, and take a lesson both from the good and the evil that we see working there. Small as we are, and absurd as the comparison may seem, the position of our Provinces is somewhat analogous to that of the states of America, and the great difficulties which the Americans have "found in working their Constitution lies in the over-jealous provincial feeling of some of the States. Nothing but the Anglo-Saxon respect for law which America has so signally displayed, has held them together. We have not, and could not have, such an institution as the American Supreme Court —that strange tribunal which overrides the acts of lawgivers and legislatures—but we are very ready to display the same jealous feelings in our own petty provinces, and to limit our feelings of patriotism to them instead of extending tliem to the colony at large. We may become an important country. We are in danger of becoming a little nest of petty states, thwarting and impoverishing each other. There is no hatred like the hatred of near neighbours. It is with very great care and judgment that the General Assembly ought to localise powers which it holds by the Constitution Act. It is easier to give when necessary, than to withdraw a power once given. Of course there are some powers held by the General Assembly, which it is most important that the Provinces should hold. Sued a one is the administration of the Waste Lands, and it is a power not dangerous to bestow upon the Provinces, because it is of a temporary character, as it will cease with the sale of the Crown lands. But there are some which when once bestowed it would be impossible to retract, and which it is possible that the Provinces in their blind impatience may now loudly clamour for. In such emergencies, the need of a responsible Upper House will be severely felt. I have heard it maintained that the first necessary step in the formation of a great State is the foundation of a number of small and almost independent provinces with entirely local powers ; that thus their resources would be gradually developed till the time came for a union between them, which .would then be more readily effected ; and in support of this view the AngloSaxon Heptarchy has been adduced as an example of the success of such a beginning.- It cannot,-'however, be proved that, had civilization been then further advanced, a more intimate union between the states of the Heptarchy would not have led to a more rapid progress. Nay, it can he proved that some of the greatest evils which befell England at that time sprang from the division of interests arising" from the number of petty states into which it was subdivided. Such a division was a necessity of barbarous times. In arguing after this fashion we must give up all the advantages of experience and knowledge, of the advance of civilization and the progress of mankind. It is true that many of our Provinces have very different iuterests at the present moment, but they have more in common, and these last will increase in the same ratio that the former decrease. At this juncture, when it is most important that our lawgivers should consult the interests of posterity, there is a great temptation and a great proneness to legislate for the moment. Little as the present subjects of legislation may appear to deal with the future, we may be sure that the spirit in which such legislation is conceived, will, for a very long time, animate our councils. To take one instance among many of the ill effects which might arise from too great a division of interests. It has been absolutely proposed in the event of the North being involved in native difficulties, that the South, having- a comparatively trifling Maori population, should look on and take no part in the struggle. Such an idea would now be universally scouted by the Southrons, as alike ungenerous and impolitic. This feeling, however, would scarcely survive long when the Provinces became accustomed to look upon themselves as petty independent states, with scarcely a tie to bin 1 them • —scarcely an interest in common. Tiie fact is, the Southern settler, like a thorough John Bull, looks exclusively for his duties amid the objects immediately around him, or constantly brought before him. He would probably think of the fable of the bundle of sticks, but not till one of them had been nearly broken. He is proud of his new home, and says that it is a good home, but he is not very thankful for it. To hear him talk now and then you would fancy that he had

made the land as well as the improvements on it. And as for its history, and the difficulties conquered, ere its tide was secured, lie dreams neither of them, nor of the possibility of aggression. " Nee yenii in mentem quorum consederit arvis." I take this native question as one out of many which may spring tip to require the united efforts of the Provinces, because it is one which may arise at any moment 1: and which would be best met more by a general sympathy between closely united Provinces than by any immediate legislation bearing- upon one point. We have been so long deprived of responsible Government that it seems to me we have begun to confuse the ideas of Provincial and Eesponsible Government. The General Government may, and we hope will, be as entirely responsible to the people of New Zealand a*s the Provincial Governments are. Communication is improving every day. If we look forward with patience and forethought for a short time we shall reap the fruits of our more liberal policy, and rejoice in our escape from the perils and the punishment of rabid ultra-provincialism. And when everything is in train for starting with vigour on our new career, a new difficulty will present itself. The public men whom we count upon have old feuds to settle, old quarrels to revenge : a thousand petty grievances are remembered with the greater bitterness from the very fact that their origin was mean and contemptible, their course marked by the undignified bickerings of petulant childhood, or shrewish old womanhood. Thus at the important crisis of party formation, there will be danger lest cliques are formed mindful of old injuries, rather than honest English parties regardful of the future common weal.. Can we not manage to cast old grievances aside once and for ever ? Need we rake up the noisome effluvia from the charnel house of our dead animosities ? Can we not give honour where honour is due ? Is all sense of magninimity dead to New Zealand in its very cradle ? Di meliora ! I sincerely believe that the public men in our colonies are now, taken as a body, as honourable and independent as public men are inanypartof the world. And yet for a long- time their honor has been a joke, and their 'name a bye-word in the old country. They have themselves to thank for this, - We bespatter each other ■•with opprobrious epithets ; —in England they believe us, and we complain of the unnatural mother. We are slow to imitate the virtues of our American brethren—but ready to imitate their vices. Of course there are in every country men notorious for political profligacy. If we once know any man to belong to this number, we are fools to trust him with the most infinitesimal shadow of power; but when we dotrustarnan enough to give him any high office or power in the state; all experience teaches us that for the security of our own interests, and of honor punctiliously scrupulous on his part, we must accompany that gift with a large measure of generous confidence. To our sorrow we have still old accounts to settle. New Zealand has the N. Z. Company's claim, and this Province the liabilities of the Canterbury Association. Let them not be bones of contention for angry dogs to snarl and bite over. If investigated with justice and candour, they may soon k be disposed of for ever. It will be, —to speak in a 'purely economical point of view—cheaper and better for us to settle them at once, (after close enquiry,)-with as little bitterness as possible, even though we pay rather more for our bargain. We laugh at the Maories who haggle for a week about a shilling, and think, that if they gain their point at the end of that time, they have done well. In our public affairs, time is more than ordinarily valuable. And now, Sir, some one may ask who on earth I am, who take it on myself to write at such length on these topics. I think it is sufficient to answer, " A fellow Colonist." It was the saying of a very wise man to a wise people that' we consider no man to be incapable of forming a judgment on public affairs; nay, we do not allow that or any other plea to be urged as an excuse for a member of civil society takingno part in that society's concerns.' I must apologise for the hasty manner in which I have introduced these subjects. The space and time that can be devoted to a letter such as this, allows of neither full discussion nor careful writing. The mattev will speak for itself. I can have given offence to none of your readers. " I have too high an opinion of the undemanding of my fellow citizens to think of

yielding them instruction, and I covet too much their good -will to forfeit it by giving them good advice." If any of them spends ten minutes in perusing my letter, and if he agrees with me lie cannot complain of having had his attention drawn to the subjects I have alluded to; and if he does not agree with me, I am sure he -will find ample compensation for the loss of his ten minutes in the exquisite satisfaction of abusing the writer. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, A Canterbury Colonist.

To the Editor of the Lyltellon Times. Sjr.—lt is with great reluctance that I am drawn into the controversy, which has arisen in your columns respecting the observance of Saints' day and other Holy days. As, however, my practice in a public matter has been publicly impugned as injudicious and mischievous, I conceive that I am bound to'speak out. I do not know who your correspondent is, who signs himself "A Member of the Church of England :" whoever he is, he is evidently competent to defend his own positions ; still I cannot refrain from noticing in the first place, the unfair, though doubtless unintentional sophistry of his opponent. The latter thus writes : ""allow me to ask your correspondent of last week's paper if he will be good enough to furnish me with the proofs of his position that in the proper observance of the Saints' days or Holy days the very essence or purity of the Christian religion is concerned, as I have been perhaps ignorantly taught that the essence of the Christian religion was altogether something different." Now observe the confusion here. The "Member of the Church of England" does not say that the essence or purity of the Christian religicn consists in the proper observance of holy days, but is concerned in it, which is quite another thing. The essence of a man does not consist, in his wearing clothes, or standing on his feet: yet his essence, as a reasonable creature, is certainly concerned in those and other minor matters, so much so that if he were frequently seen standing on his head instead of his feet, or altogether despising raiment, we should certainly conclude that his essence was so materially concerned, as to require that he should be placed beyond the pale of ordinary humanity. So with the matter in question. The essence of the Christian religion certainly does not consist in the observance of Holy days, but I will undertake to prove that it is concerned in it. For in \vhat does the proper observance of holy days consist ? In assembling together in the house of God for prayer and praise, in meditation on the lives and characters of the holy Apostles, and the lessons they teach us, and for hearty thanksgiving to God for the privileges we enjoy as " fellow citizens with the Saints, and of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." Now, if your correspondent has been taught that the essence of the Christian religion is " altogether something different" from this, I must confess that I think he has been as he says " ignorantly taught." His teaching, at any rale, can scarcely have been in accordance with that of the Church of England; for if she had held that the essence of the Christian religion was "altogether something different" from, and unconnected with, the proper observance of Saints' days and other holy days, she would not have appointed an appropriate Collect, Epistle and Gospel, together with Proper Lessons, for each of these days ; neither would she have been so distinct and particular in directing her children to the observance of them. Thus much on the general question; I will come now to the point, in which I am more immediately concerned. Your cor-

respondent proceeds to say, " Supposing his position to be established, would he further inform me if he considers the proper observance of those days to consist in compelling children to attend the Church services, which compulsion I and very many have perhaps foolishly thought would have the effect not only of wearying them with the forms of the Church of England, but what is worse, of breeding a spirit of irreverence and a consequent aversion even from religion itself." Here again I certainly do think that he is amenable to that charge of foolish thinking, which he has indiscreetly fastened upon himself. For if his theory be correct, how mischievous it must be to take children to church on Sundays, when the service is twice as long, and when there is always a sermon, which every one knows is that part of the Church Service, if any, which is most wearisome to children. And, upon the same theory, it must surely be unwise to compel a child to go to school, and learn lessons ; for you must needs fear that it will breed in him an aversion to knowledge itself. Will you not be afraid to impose upon him any restrictions whatever, lest you should encourage a spirit of rebellion against all authority. The truth is that, if children are not compelled, but led in a kindly and parental spirit, and with only ordinary judgment, and if the restrictions are not excessive, and the tasks not too severe, they fall naturally and cheerfully into the habits of the family or school "in which they are placed, and whatever irksomeness may be felt occasionally, either soon wears off, or is relieved by change and relaxation. To come from theory to fact, I am convinced that boys are not averse to occasional week-day services, and that so far from their conceiving from them any aversion to religion, they rather tend to attach them to the Service of the Church, and to lead them to feel, what is of the greatest importance, that their religion is not a Sunday matter only. The grounds of this conviction are derived from past experience and present observation. Occurring, as they do, occasionally and at intervals, the Saints' Days and other Holy7days come as a pleasant break and change upon the regular routine of every day work—a thing above all others agreeable to juvenile tastes. Ask a schoolboy, which he would prefer, on a Saints' day, the ordinary round of lessons, as on other days, or a day agreeably diversified between lessons, Church Service, and a half holiday. And, lastly, with regard to that halfholiday, does not our very mother-tongue condemn the opposition to it ? Our fathers acknowledged a real connection between Holy days and holidays, conceiving that our very pastimes and recreations should be sanctified by being brought info connection with holy seasons, that, if possible, our minds may be insensibly raised from mere secular pleasures to the solid, substanrial, Christian joy, which attends the memories of those sacred celebrations. Trusting _ that you will excuse me, Sir, for trespassing to such an extent upon your space, I beg- to subscribe myself, Your obedient Servant, Henry Jacobs., The Grammar School, Christchurch, WhitrnouJay, June 5,1854.

Pboi'osed Nkw Railway Docks.—An extensive wet dock, of 23 acres,.in connection with the various lines converging at Newcastle, is_ proposed to be cotistructed^on'the north bank 01 the Jyne, with a deep water entrance of 23 ieei. A similar wot dock is also proposed to be established m connection with the railways ut Maryport. On Thursday the convocation of the "prelates and clergy of the province of Canterbury was formally prorogued till the Ist of February

Panama. —The Best News Yet.—We announced some time since the fact that the Barbacoes bridge had been successfully completed, and at a later period, that the cars had been able to travel the track as far as Maumee station. We have now the satisfaction to state, officially, that on the first day of January, 1854, the railroad will be opened for public travel as far as Obispo, and that on and after that dale the river travel will be entirely, and we hope, for ever done away with. A splendid mule road will be opened from Obispo to connect with the Cruces road, so that as soon as the cars reach that station, passengers will experience no other difficulty in crossing the Isthmus, than that of a pleasant mule ride of five or six hours along a good road from Panama to Obispo, and then a change from the muie to the railroad cars at the station, whence they will be enabled to reach Aspinwall in two hours more, making the entire trip from ocean to ocean in about seven or eight honrs? travelling time, and avoiding all risks and annoyances of embarcation in boats, to which they have hitherto been subject.—Panama Star. Tragedy isr North Carolina ; Conviction of a Baptist Minister for Murder: His Suicide. —The North State Whig, published at Washington, North Carolina, publishes a report of the trial of the Rev. George W. Carawan, for the murder of Mr. C. H. Lassiter, a school teacher in Hyde country. Carawan is fifty-six years of age, and for many years has been a popular teacher in it the Baptist Church, a man of strong will, exercising a powerful influence over his friends, and feared as much as hated by his foes. Lassiter was a quiet young man engaged in the business of teaching. Some months before the murder, Lassiter boarded in the house of Carawan, and a quarrel arose between them, Carawan alleging that Lassiter was too familiar with his (Carawan's) wife. Carawan talked very freely among his neighbours on the subject; said that Lassiter ought to be shot ; that shooting was too good for him ; and that he and Lassiter could not both live in the same neighbourhood, &c. ; and finally tried to get out a peace warrant against Lassiter, alleging that he had attempted to take his life. He went on this way for some time when Lassiter sued him for slander, laying the damages at 2,000 dollars. A few hours after the writ was served on Carawan, Lassiter was killed. The body was found in the swamps behind Carawan's house in an open lot, which was surrounded by briars, underbrush, &c,. and covered with moss. The moss over the grave had been carefully removed, the grave dug just large enough to hold the body, and the body pressed into it, the grave filled up even with the surrounding earth and pressed down, and the moss carefully laid back upon it. Carawan fled, and went up and down the country preaching in an assumed name. It was proved at the trial that the prisoner had offered ;he witnesses enough to go out of the way. The jury, after a protracted fitting, brought in a verdict of guilty, and the judge ordered a recess of the court for an hour. As the crowd was leaving, the prisoner suddenly drew two pistols, one of which he fired at Mr. Warren, the counsel for the state, and with the other shot himself through the head, killing himself instantly. The ball of the other struck Mr. Warren on the breast just above the heart, but fortunately glanced off and only left a slight wound. Bendigo.—Six of the digging fraternity in tins locality lately appeared before the Sandburst Police Magistrates, charged with havin°been implicated in a raffle for another digger^ wife. It appeared that a yonng gentleman, as he is called, of rather eccentric habits, conceived a violent passion for a female in the service of a storekeeper on the Lower Bendigo, and havn^ been accepted in preference to several other suitors, in a few days they were married. The happy bridegroom shortly repented his matrimonial bonds, and wishing to regain his freedom, though not anxious to commit an assault on his fair bride, he quietly proposed to raffle for her, when 20 members enrolled themselves at one shilling per head. - Information was given to the police by Dr. Edward Allison, who, upon being sworn, said •—" On Saturday evening, the 25th of March] I had ocoasion to go professionally to the tent of a Mr. .Newman, which is situate near Ritchie's tent. At Newman's tent I saw a Captain Ta\lor, and a Mrs. Tysall. Captain Taylor informed me that some fun was coin* on in an adjoining tent. I enquired what it was, and was told that a woman was being raffled for in

Ritchie's tent, and that the woman's name was Mrs. Clements. We heard a good deal of merriment, and also heard the dice rattling. I heard the articles of sale with regard to the woman, read. I saw Clements outside the tent: he was looking into it through an aperture. I asked him if it were true that they were raffling for his wife. He said yes. I then remarked-^ Is it really possible that you who have been married so short a time can be proceeding ia this manner ? He said his wife had ruined him 3 that she had expended £130 since his marriage with her, and that he wished he had never seeu her. He also stated that he was very happy to get rid of her, and that she had accused him of being unfit to enter into the marriage state. He further remarked that he had reason to believe that she was not faithful to him, and he did not wish to part with her through commit, ting an assault on her, but he wished to get quietly rid of her by means of a raffle. I. understood'that there was one man in the raffle who, \£ he had won her, Mis. Clements would have gone with him. I was informed that after the raffle had taken place, the winner, John Young, went to the tent of Clements, and claimed possession of Mrs. Clements, but she declined going. A receipt was given to him, signed by two witnesses. I was informed, on Sunday, that Clements had deliberately given an authority for the sale of his wife. They both came into my tent on Monday evening, and I ordered them out. I considered it my duty to inform the magistrate of the transaction, and I did so." The evidence being oracular only, the parties were dismissed, with a caution not to play at such " unlawful games" in future.— Melbourne Paper. Very Cool.—On the 4th, says the Wanderer, a cannon shot was fired from the right bank of the Danube, which fell close to the~quarters of Prince Scharmanoff, the Russian General. There was found written on it the words, " Good morning to you!" It was sent to Prince Gortschakoff at Bucharest. Arsenic Eating.—ln some part of Lower Austria and Styria, and especially in the hilly region towards Hungary, there prevails among the peasantry an extraordinary custom of eating arsenic. It is eaten professedly for one or both of two purposes: First, that the eater may thereby acquire freshness of complexion and plumpness of figure. For this purpose, as will readily be supposed, it is chiefly eaten by the young. Second, that the wind may be improved, so that long and steep heights may be climbed without difficulty of breathing. By the middle aged and the old it is esteemed for this influence, and both results are described as following almost invariably from the use of arsenic. To improve their appearance, young peasants, of both sexes, have recourse to it, some no doubt from vanity, and some with the view of adding to their charms in the eyes of each other. And it is very remarkable to see how wonderfully well they attain their object; for these poison-eaters are generally remarkable for blooming complexions, and a full, rounded, healthy appearance. Dr. Yon Tchudi, gives the following case as having occurred in his own practice :—" A healthy hut pale and thin milkmaid, residing in the parish of H had a lover whom she wished to attach to herself by a more agreeable exterior. She therefore had recourse to the well-known beautifier, and took arsenic several times a week. The desired effect was not long in showing itself, for in a few months she became stout, Jrosy-cheeked, and all that her lover could desire. In order, however, to increase the effect, she incautiously increased the dose of arsenic, and fell a victim to her vanity. She died poisoned—a very painful death!" The number of such fatal cases, especially among young persons, is described as by no means inconsiderable. For the second purpose—that of rendering (lye breathing easier when going up hill—the peasant puts a small fragment of arsenic in his mouth, and lets it dissolve. The effect is astonishing1. He ascends heights with facility, which he could not otherwise do without the greatest difficulty of breathing-. The quantity of arsenic with which the eaters begin is above half a grain. They continue to take this quantity two or three times a week, in the morning fasting, till they become habituated to it. They then cautiously increase the dose as the quantity previously taken seems to diminish in its effect. " The peasant R~-—," says Dr. You Tschudi, " a hale man of sixty, who enjoys capital health at present, takes for every dose a.

piece about two grains in weight. For the last 'foriy years he has continued the habit which %.e inherited from his father, and which he will transmit to his children." No symptoms of illness or of chronic poisoning are observable in a ny of these arsenic eaters, when the dose is carefully adapted to the constitution and habit of body of the person using it. But if from any cause the arsenic be left off for a time, symptoms of disease occur, which resemble those of slight arsenical poisoning: especially a o-reat feeling of discomfort arises, great indifference to everything around, anxiety about his own person, deranged digestion, loss of appetite, a feeling of overloading in the stomach, increased flow of saliva, burning from the stomach up to the throat, spasms in the throat, pains in the bowels, constipation, and especially oppression in the breathing. -From these symptoms there is only one speedy mode of relief— an immediate return to arsenic eating.;—iJ/acAwood's Magazine. ■ ■