Correspondence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 519, 24 October 1857, Page 3

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the ' Lyttelton Times.'

Sib, —It may be inferred from your report of the proceedings at Akaroa on Saturday last, Oct. 10th, that the remarks made by Mr. White in defence of Mr.' Moorhouse had been called for by the speeches of the preceding speakers, Mr. Bryant and Captain Greaves, li such an impression has been created, it is only fair to those gentlemen to correct it, a3 neither of the topics broached by Mr. White, namely, Mr. Moorhouse's solvency, his orthodoxy (or indeed his opinions on any subject) were referred to even in the most indirect way by either of them.

I am, sir, ONE WHO WAS PRESENT.

To the Editor of the Lgttelton Times.

Sib, —Some little time since I addressed to you a letter signed *An Elector,' asking Mr. Ollivier if it was his intention to take his seat in the House of Representatives when summoned; I was induced to ask that gentleman the ques-. tion, not from any evil intention as he insinuates in his letter, but from an impression that was left on my mind, from words that fell from the hon. member at a public meeting held at Mr. Thompson's rooms in Christchurch. Sir, Mr. Ollivier in reply says his intentions are known to many of the electors, and denies the right of an anonymous writer to question them. ; •

I did not th'rik it necessary for the asking of so simple a question to-attach my name to my former note, but it appears that the secret can only be divulged by my doing so. I again repeat the" question to Mr. Ollivier. I am, sir, Yours obediently,

J. H. MOORE.

To the Editor,of the '.Lyttelton Times'

Sib, —I believe, in May last, a sum of £40 sterling was voted by the Provincial Council, for repairing the approaches to Baxter's Ferry, oppositei Mr, DayV Hotel at Kaiapoi.^ ; I Nothing has been ,dpne, and, consequently, the: accumulation of .mud'" by the ebb and flow,; of. the.tides ; ,renders ,the road,thereto fl.pt only,:un r pleasant for. pedestrlans^butorieaHy''Unsafe fort horse and bnlloek) teams. v : Besides, sir, .we have many iyQung.fellorcs who. rejoice in wellpolished awhipsuaniLspurs, saying'toothing of white ducks, who consequently gr6vvl, not loud,but deep.' ■Methinks; that -had; -money been required— voted'or not—for".laying put a road: to an.y.,pul-of-the-way place, to'the 'Moon for,instance, let alone the approaches to the .West. Coast,,,we should have had it somewhere.

Seriously speaki|ig,.6ii?*.-yi[e:.ar©:i.9ll-ve>y;mach.

inconvenienced, and .have no end of mud .and dirt; so do,pray give us the aid of your powerful advocacy, and rescue us from; this slough of, despond.

I am, sir, Your obedient servant, "YORK!" YOU'RE WANTED.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sib,- —I-'beg..to solicit a short space in your journal to notice the following advertisement which appeared in your issue of Saturday last. "Under distress, from the Resident Magistrate's Court, the Sergeant of Police will sell &c.,^&c, the property of Rowland and Richard Davis." Now, Sir, as the above is calculated to do me serious injury (whether intended or not), I; deem it a duty to the public and myself to give the particulars of this very respectable affair. During the sittings of the Council in March, 1856, a new Public House Billwas introduced (admirably adapted for a penal settlement); after being purged of its most oppressive. clauses it was withdrawn by the'govenyinent as being too late to come into operation until July, 1857. About a fortnight after it was smuggled into the Council on the plea of making some grammatical alterations, and then forced tlirough '.. the House. Previous to this occurrence the publicans received their licenses for the ensuing year under the then existing law. Five days after the new bill came into operation the publicans at Christchurch and Lyttelton were summoned for a breach of the new law. They, having no license under the new ordinance, sold according to the only license they had. The result was, the publicans were fined Is. each by Mr. Moorhouse, the Resident Magistrate. The publicans, acting under legal advice, requested the fine in my case to be altered to £5, to enable me to appeal to the Supreme Court. On. vn3 r. attending a few days afterwards, to give the requisite sureties for the appeal, the Magistrate, in his usual kind and considerate manner, urged me to drop the case. I pointed out to that gentleman that, if I was to do so, I should.have to pay the increased fine of £5, when he said the fine of the Court w-as Is , which I had paid; md, if the case was dropped, then he would require no more. To this arrangement I consented, and under this belief the matter ended. Twelve months after the above occurrence, when [ attended the police court to renew my license, I was complimented on keeping the best conducted house in the province by the bench of magistrates. Immediately after, the new resident Magistrate, Mr. Hall, informed me there was an unpaid fine against me. I expressed my surprise at the same, and explained the particulars of the case. This did not appear to satisfy that gentleman, who put an execution into my house exactly fifteen months after the real or imaginary offence was committed. Now, Mr. Editor, I kept the Aurora Tavern and Britannia Saloon in Wellington, for several years, a considerable portion of which time I had a carte blanche from Major Richmond, the then Superintendent, to keep open, when I required it, for Theatres, Balls, <fee, &c; during which time there were three ships of war and the major part of three regiments there; yet there was not a single police case or complaint against my establishment. About the treatment towards myself or son I feel no surprise, but I do considerthe act of one Resident Magistrate ought to be respected by the other. Or, if it was important to the ends of justice to examine the books in one case, why not extend the search to the five predecessors. I am. punished for a breach of the public house law: and the very gentleman who punishes me for a case which occurred long before he took office, actually commits a flagi*ant violation of the same law himself, as follows: —a person in Lyttelton makes application for a general license, giving the legal notice; but his application is refused and the Magistrate gives him a license for the sale of wines, beer, <fee, without any previous application and contrary to law : the Magistrates having no more power to grant off-handed a license under the circumstances than myself. In conclusion, had I been a Toady or a Parasite to the great men of our little Pedlington I should have been in great favour, instead of being exposed to .their wrath. As it is, I cannot allow the subject to end here, and am therefore anxious to lay a plain statement of the facts of the case before the public. I remain, Your obedient servant, R. DAVIS.

To the Editor of the ILyttelton Times,

Sib,—As I,have no pretension to any scientific knowledge, much less to any engineering skill, I have hitherto refrained from taking any part in the discussion of that 'much vexed quesr tion' the road to the plains: that hone of contention, respecting which all parties have agreed to differ; but, however much I maybe amused by the occasional skirmishes that take place between: the. scientific and, the non-scientific members of our community,X cannot forget that I, in common with my neighbour, havre to bear.the;: evils.•arising.from'thevnon-exiatence o£a.really,j good iroadito, the jpiaina. c I ThoughvtheSumnerJßoad; bas-;been opened : with: cohsiderahleieeW*,, it is fat from being com-,.-, plete; and thpogh IfWduldnot go.-;tbe length.of someand-sayit -never: can ibe:a good.road; itJ. cWtainly. is, not : a good,ione now,? and Js^not ■ likely;fehe so,for.some.time. The BridlejPath a Hascei-tainly been .teome.what imprbve4^but;;as a thoroughfare through which the imports:;, ind;exportsCof thetprovince are, to pass, we ; aref. in much :ihe..> same position we were-in fouriyears ago. '.•Tbe.i wealth ;of Canterbury b.as;,Btiil' to pass the- jSumner; Bar, at whiGh ;I\atberiNeptune sometimes.doraanda rather heavj: toll. •.■.

Now, sir, it appears to me that the great error of our scientific friends (and even civil engineers may err) as'in this: they all stickle so much about the height of Evans Pass and the easy gradient of their pet; road, via Sumner. Now, I know 'by experience that the journey to Christchurch that way is much more fatiguing than going over the Bridle Path; so the value of the gradient is sadly diminished by the length of the way. I would, therefore, beg to offer a suggestion, the practicability of which appears to my common sense understanding very feasible. Make a deep cutting through the hill at the top of the Bridle Path, and, as Lyttelton is one of the worst supplied towns in the British Empire with that essential to health and comfort, pure water, let the debris be used in constructing a strong embankment across the gully that runs down to .the valley of Dampier's Bay; there is a small stream of water always running down it, which might be dammed up at a sufficient elevation to supply the inhabitants of Lyttelton with water even in their attics.

An artificial lake or reservoir might be constructed at much less cost than stone pi<*s or breakwaters, and would, I believe, be as conducive to the general welfare of the settlement. We shall soon have as much wharf-room as our trade is likely to require, and I think the gradient of the Bridle Path and the distance to Christchurch might be both improved by the plan I propose. The town of Lyttelton would, I believe, be more thickly inhabited were it better • supplied with the liquid element, and the industry of its inhabitants be more fully developed. At present, any operation requiring water is quite out of the question during the summer months.

Not wishing to "intrude too far on your space or the patience of your readers, T have avoided entering into details, reserving (with your permission) the right of reply should any opponent present himself to ' Yours, &c,

CENSORIUS,

October 11th, 1857,

To the Electors of Canterbury.

I feel it incumbent on me, as far as lies in my power, to prevent society from being lulled into a ibrgetfulness of their duty; as the composing draught attempted to be administered to them through the medium of the leading article in the c Standard* of last week had such a tendency. I wish to awaken the electors, and bid them not sink into a lethargic state, but rouse up and obtain from those gentlemen who have tendered themselves for selection at the approaching election satisfactory answers to two important questions. I maintain it is not so much for us to decide upon the individual merits of those gentlemen, as to hay« the expression of their opinions on matters likely to affect the interests of every individual in this community; it is not for us to know the magnitude events may assume that are ■likely to spring from causes shortly about to •take place. We should therefore guard against .placing men in a position for which they are totally unfit. The first question I would" put to a candidate is this : —' Now, sir, about the price of land, are you for altering or allowing it to remain as it is ?' If the party thus addressed answers, to remain in its present state; so far so good. The next question I would ask is :— ' Now, sir, is it your intention to give any countenance or support to a further outlay of money on the Sumner Road ?' If the answer is negative, you may then conclude you have the right man, and use all your endeavours to put him in the right place. I wotild wish to impress on the minds of the electors of this province, as far as each and every man is concerned in the approaching elections, to make the suffrage an entire matter of principle. Electors! You must not forget you are in New Zealand, free and independent, under the thumb of no man, with liberty at your command ? you have no business to succumb to any one. Support the candidate in every instance who, as far as you can learn, will use his utmost endeavours to advance and elevate the province; who will look to your interests as they were his own; one who will spend your money judiciously, and allow that great mistake, the Sumner Road, to remain, as it is, a lasting memento of the folly and extravagance of our ancestors. Vote not for a candidate because you regard him as a friend, or respect him as a gentleman, or because he happens to form. one. of any particular sect or society to which, you may have the honour to belong. If for any such reason you would go hand in hand through thick and thin with a man whose opinions were in direct opposition to your own convictions, you would then indeed be devoid of principle, and likely to inflict an injustice JQot only on yourself, bat on posterity.

AN ELECTOR.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times,

Sis,—Though some of my former communications have not been very well received, I shall feel it<my duty to waive allperaonal feeling and offer :for publication in your' journal a few remarkstipon passing events which to my mind seem of considerable importance in a religious and social point of view. I am quite aware that such subjects in general'but little interest with-rat!afgeF'portion °of the public, but; still I' trust thatthereare yet many among us; who take some interest'in the moral and social prospects of their" adopted country. I allude, in the first place, to'ah ai'ticle in your last issue, headed "The Pulpit and the' Drama," in which a clergyman'at' -N&ft' ;York appears to have attended an anniversary -dinner of an association for prt/moting tHeatricals in that city, and made a speech,'erideavourmg by somewhat pecioua reasoning to draw bis' own sacred call-

ing to assimilate and fraternize with the stage, an institution which I still maintain tends to anything but the promotion of godliness and virtue. His laborious endeavours to draw analogies between the two professions, it' successful, would tend to reduce his own to the level of the other, a mere piece of acting, what we know to be unreal and untrue, instead o! preaching the Gospel with sincerity and heartfelt belief of its glorious truths. This is indeed to degrade the ministry of the word. But it is with heartfelt pleasure that I perceive that this was but a solitary instance of such blasphemous buffoonery. With regard to his argument that all the faculties and talents with which mankind are endowed are to be cultivated for the promotion of human happiness, I perfectly agree with him in the principle, but entirely differ in the application, as the same talent which would make a clever actor or actress might be turned into a more beneficial channel than that of influencing the passions of mankind and coloring vice with the appearance of virtue. Dr. Bellows' reasoning on this point would equally apply to the talent of a Voltaire, or a Hume, or to any other misused powers of setting forth darkness for light and light for darkness. , Again, I take up an English paper, and perceive that, in the metropolis of Christian England, what is called the " People's Subscription Band" commenced playing in the Regent's Park, on a Sunday afternoon, a variety of overtures, waltzes, marches, and galops, and that persons were engaged in selling programmes of the music, &c., &c. This requires no comment; but in the face of such innovations I feel it a sacred duty, as far as my poor capacity goes, to call upon all sincere Christians to be up and doing and on their guard, on the one hand against the false sophistry that would endeavour to unite light with darkne&s and Christ with Belial, and on the other against that latitudinarianism and religious indifference that would tolerate the open profanation of the day of sacred rest oa the false ground of popular expediency.

C. A. MARSACK.

Beulah. Oct. 16fch, 1857.