Local Intelligence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 720, 1 October 1859, Page 4

Local Intelligence.

We observe from a notice in our advertising'l columns that our next wool season will be marked by a novelty oP no insignificant kind in the department of shipping. Messrs. Miles & Co., ef this town, announce that the splendid screw steamship Eoyal Bride, the property of the house of Miles, Brothers, & Co. of Bristol and London, will be kid on to convey wool from this port to London direct. Ihe Royal Bride is a new steamer, and many of our readers may recollect an account of her launch given m the 'Illustrated London News,' last year, together with the details of her construction, which is unique m some particulars. This, fine steamship was to leave Bristol for Melbourne on the 24th of August, and will come on herein the end of this year. We understand that arrangements maybe made by which she will call at Timaru and Otao-o ; or both ports, taking wool thence direct, and cominoon here to filtup. She is estimated to carry 3000 bales. We need not remark what an excellent opportunity this will be of obtaining a first class passage to England. For some reason the opening of the present Session of the Provincial Council has been a matter oi more importance than almost any previous similar occasion. It is not the first meeting of a new Council nor the last meeting-of an old one. It is not an irregular session, summoned foi' the special consideration of important and urgent business•butone coming in its regular place, with constitutional propriety, a twelvemonth after the last. It is not summoned—as councils have been summoned in New Zealand—by an unwilling Executive who can no longer legally stave off the time for meeting a vindictive opposition. True, ifc was Michaelmas Day-St. Michael k patron of geese in .Britain,—and the coincidence may have excited men s minds. The promised disclosure of archilectiiral spbnaonr to the public gaze in the New Council Chamber may have been another point of interest to the holiday makers.- though the outside, whichi «an be seen any day in the week, can have left little room for curiosity as to the inside Kationally or irrationally, it was nevertheless the ca>e that all 'Chnstchurch made as close a holiday o the meeting of-members as they are wont to do of races or the New Year. In consequence everything looked very dull. And, by the way, it is to be remarked that though holidays are said by romance writers to be kept among villagers with a gaiety, dash, and vivacity, very different, from the sobriety of a working day; to our knowled.ro/ftnd particularly in the town, of Christchurch, the only

effect of a holiday is to strip the place of what few signs of life may be'ordinarily apparent. The great James would hava to write of the famous holiday of 1859 that "The. town was not astir from an early hour; parties of comely villagers in their holiday garments We're not passing andrepassing amid the rare shrubberfes of Cathedral square, saluting each 'other in many a melTy quip and jest, as two men, clad in the sombre hue which: marks the festive apparel of the British, crossed from Hereford sWeot to Oxford terrace, and, passing over the Land Office bridge, wended their way rapidly to the gorgeous pile which crowns the laughing stream of Avon." Not to throw any colour of romance over the proceedings of the day, but adhering-strictly to facts, we feel bound to say that when morning service was nearly over there were some dozen human creatures visible from the loftiest tussock in the town; of which number half ' were collected round the turret door leading to the strangers, gallery of the Houses of Parliament; and the remainder were coming from- as many various directions to swell the number of spectators. Piles of timber and huge blocks of stone concealed, close by, thie'.■workmen even on that day engaged in raising another wing of the building; and the rude appearance of these, with all the untrimmed surroundings, served artistically to render more brilliant by contrast the scene which presented itself on entering. The panelling—the polishing—the varnishing-vthe crimson cushioning —the alcoving—the enarching—the thousand-and-bne finnikings of architecture mingled in a really handsome whole. To be sure, we don't pretend to a criticalknowledge of these matters, but we do pronounce the new chamber to be in our humble opinion a fitting apartment for the transaction of business by the representatives of the people of Canterbury. The members themselves, settling down comfortably into the newly stuffed cushions, bore an expression of countenance which plainly : denoted satisfaction with, the ease and elegance pre- ! pared faij them. His Honor too, though he spoke in plain grose, opened his address, just as we anticipated,l} by a well-merited congratulatiorPupon the change of abode. As to the address in general, it can speak for itself; all our readers will be in possession of its details without delay. Perhaps some are a little disappointed at not receiving here \ the details of the railway proposal so long promised; and no doubt several honorable members are very much disappointed at haivng more business chalked out for them than they had expected. But it is impossible to please every one, hit 'liiigfi or hit low! The matter of "the speech was inifeh better than the delivery. Those who hearcl his'1 Honor on Thursday, and had also heard,him;pn such occasions as the Farmers' Club dinna;^musthave noticed the great similarity of style in coniv position as well as idea between the written and'tne'

impromptu: addresses,

The difference observable

was;that in the latter a little hesitation was the result of the endeavour on the moment to find words of perfectly appropriate character: and to put them in their exact logical place; in the former, time had been taken while writing to elaborate the die-

tion to the nicest wish of the composer. But what little advantage was thus gained was decidedly lost in the absence of energy in delivery. The difficulty of impromptu'composition seemed to be the means of giving emphasis to the words of the extempore speech;,an emphasis which was entirely missed when reading words in whose formation the mind had no present part. The Superintendent, moreiover, seemed.labouring from illness; and certainly the tone of his voice agreed with his appearance. On the whole, the address fell very flat upon his auditors; so:; much so that in the middle of the most important part, where the words conveyed information likely to rivet the deepest attention, not ; pne face, of the twenty which belonged to the honorable members assembled, showed a sign of interest. It will not be'unnecessary, therefore, to beg gentlemen who think of discussing public business to read over, again,, carefully, the speech in which the Superintendent advanced his views.

:; When His Honor had gone the organs of speech of thejl.esjser bracles were setfree; and the wellknown ;talka&es allowed of no delay. Mr. Ollivier, • certainly % nature and position the ' chief speaker,' had many ■papers to lay upon the table (among them Mr. Godley's and Mr. Selfe's replies to the compliments silent from the province), and many notices to: give; and no want of small, words to wash down the formal proceedings. Mr, Hall, who in: parliamentary sioquacity is little, if at all behind . the Secretary, had scores, of little jobs to do before he.could leave the room; and he gave a horrifying notice that on Tuesday'he would move 'for all re^ turnsthat had ever been moved, for in previous sesions and all that he imagined might be moved for in sessions to come: Mr. Hall has in factquite cat the ground from sunder any new member who might wish to show his assiduity by moving for returns.. Old boy though he is, he has greedily devoured all the spoon meat left for -baby members. ■