The Lyttelton Times.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 570, 21 April 1858, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times.

(" Wednesday, April 21. The 'arrival-' of the Acis from Auckland puts us in possession of intelligence from Auckland up to the 7th instant. No mail having been forwarded by this opportunity we have not a complete file of the month of March, but by the kindness of the master of the Acis we have the last few numbers of the^NewLZealanier 5 and 'Cross/ -£r*>.*^-.^i*i<pTi we g'atlier some .information „^rith rjeferenGe to the~^coming" session of-tUo Assembly. 7 r~"~

The day appointed for the first meetingwas the 31st March, but on the previous day no Southern member had arrived, and three of the twelve Auckland seats were vacant; so that, including* Messrs. Stafford and Richmond, only eleven members could be mustered, or six short of the leg'al quorum. His Excellency consequently further prorogued the Assembly to that day week, the 6th instant. On the 31st, the Kate Kearney from Nelson and New Plymouth arrived at Manukau, but brought only one member, Mr. East of the latter province, all the Nelson members, as we were before aware, having" excused themselves from attendance. The Auckland journals' strangly reprobate the conduct of the men of Nelson, and are the more irate as they seem to have depended upon the representatives of that province remaining allies of Auckland in the struggle for the seat of Government, as they were last Session. However this might be, there were but twelve members present in Auckland during- that week, and things seemed to threaten a 'dissolution, for it was uncertain whether a sufficient number would be collected from Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago. On the sth the Governor further prorogued till the 10th, the following Saturday. On the 7th the Gertrude arrived, bringing, as we know, one Otago and three Canterbury representatives. A bare quorum would be obtained ■by the arrival of Mr. Clifford in the Sw.ui, which vessel, on the 9th, was fifteen m'les from port. Should she have arrived that evening we presume a further prorogation : would not be necessary, and business would proceed, even with the most limited House, as far at least as the issue of now writs and the introduction of proposed measures. Nine Auckland members and eight southern (including the two ministers) would be present, and accident or the freak of any one would put a stop to all business. As far as we can learn by the papers received the measures to bo introduced by the Ministry concern weighty matters and are most numerous. The ' Cross' incidentally alludes to their number as being fifty-two, part of the result of nearly two years' labour of' the Ministry. !It is referred to by the papers as a settled thing

that the fifth Session is to be held in Auckland and the sixth in Wellington; in consequence there is great anxiety that this Session should not be slurred over through a deficiency in attendance. The ' Southern Cross'recommends as one of the steps to be taken at once, the purification of the electoral rolls- of the colony and an increase in the number of members. The same paper thinks, that the separation of the North Island from the South, or perhaps Auckland from the rest of New Zealand, 'looms large in the distance,' and would be hurried by the failure of the present Session. A fact of the greatest importance is alluded to by the 'Cross' as generally known, but we have not seen the announcement in any ' Gazette,' owing probably to the non-arrival-of any mail from Auckland for the last six' weeks; It is that the ' Waste Lands Act, 1856/ has been disallowed by the Home Government. This Act was the first step towards putting the Southern provinces in possession of their rights; and on its strength we have been permitted to appropriate our land revenue to our own uses: At the best we are guaranteed from the possibility of a relapse into the old system, and possibly of a refund^ of revenue, only by the resolutions of the Assembly, which may be worth little in a house where a single Northern province is established in an actual majority ; over the' rest. Truly the Nelson members may be sorry for their back^ wardness. ■ ./ '

As to other news from the north, we learn that the present position of the native troubles at Taranaki, an account of which will be found in our columns to-day, has induced the Government to despatch more troops with all haste to that province. The special object appears to be the rescue of Ihaia and his followers from the Karaka pa, where he was besieged by his opponents and inimmineut risk. Should he be relieved by the British troops, he ought properly to be placed on his trial fjr the murder of Katatore; at any"rate the crisis of the struggle between the tribes was fast approaching. The troops were despatched in the Kit) Kearnev on the 6th instant.

As to Mr. SewelFs movements,the 'Southern Cross' gives us the following information:"An impression, derived from a shipping report, prevails, that Mr. Sewell has arrived somewhere in the colony. Considering the important matters committed to his charge, the.question of his arrival is of some moment. We are able to state, that although he Is probably now upon his way, he had not left England: when the January mail was despatched. He had taken his passage by the vessel which carried the mail, but, owing to difficulties connected with the question of steam communication, had been obliged to remain in England."

On Monday the four members of Council for this town, with Mi\ Fyfe, member for the district, had an interview with his Honor the Superintendent on the subject of the appropriation of the sum voted during the late session for improving the streets of .Lyttelton. Objection was taken to the proposal of the Provincial Engineer to provide arterial drainage, at considerable ex--peii»t> v rior to malting good the roadways, and his Honor, we understand, expressed his desire to carry out as far as possible the wishes of the inhabitants themselves on the matter. The special works contemplated at present are the formation of a culvert and raising the road at the corner of Oxford-street and Winchester^street, the making good of Oxford-street from that point to the Bank, of London-street to beyond Collier's, of Canterbury-street thence to the beach, and of Norwich Quay. The sum voted, £500, will be spent, so far as it will go upon these improvements. His Honor promised also to have the Bridle-path inspected at once with a view to facilitating traffic over it, and maintaining it in constant repair. The works indicated will probably be undertaken in about six weeks, when the Provincial Engineer shall have returned from a trip, to the West Coast country.