THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT. [From the "Lyttelton Times,"July 5th.]

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 559, 23 August 1851, Page 3

THE CANTERBURY SETTLEMENT. [From the " Lyttelton Times," July sth.]

The following letter lias gone the round of the Melbourne Papeis. It contains opinions too interesting to be omitted from our columns. Lyttelton, April 17th, 1851. My deaii M'Lachlan, —l have just returned from a trip through the Canterbury plains. I went about 50 miles, and intended going further, but was unable to cross the river which brought us up. lam now, however, able to form some opinion of the settlement, and must begin by telling you that I have never seen finer plains for stock, not even in the Western District, and I am told that still finer country exists both to the north and south of where I went; probably there is room on this island for three or four millions of sheep, with a pioportionate number of cattle. Both thrive remaikably well, and the former yield very heavy fleeces, shearing the Jambs as hoggets ; the aveiage clip is about 4 lbs. all round. The plains are sound and dry, and for the most part thickly grasped. Rivera intersect the country fiom west to east at a distance generally of twelve or (ifteen miles fiom each other. These are clear rapid slieams flowing over a broad channel, and generally between high sheltering banks with flats below them. One considerable drawback, however, to them, is their great breadth and rapidity, rendering them dangerous and difficult to cross. So far so well. For 'stock'

the cc n unlry seems admirably adapted, but for man, being a cooking animal, the case is diffeient, tin 10 is, an absolute famine in the article of fiiewood. 'ihe buslus are almost entirely confined to the damp corneis in the ranges, and these are for the most part nearly inaccessible : the only other supplies he in the duft wood upon the banks of some of the larger rivers, but it is not abundant, and its renewal is precarious. I have seen something like pea', but it seems to contain too much eat thy matter to burn well. There are two or three who hare considerable numbeis of stock, aud are realising a rich harvest with their wethers. Perhaps about seven or eight stations are already taken up, the great object being to secure a piece of bush, though generally its neighbourhood remleis the ground rather wet, torn, and coarse for stock. As to the Canterbury pilgrim, a year or two must smash them all, with their 50 and 100 acre lots, and this country will fall into the bauds of old settlers from the colonies. I think of settling for two or three yeais here if I can procure stock, which is the only difficulty. The directors of the Association are glad to see the settleis come in, and seem disposed to act fairly with regard to pastoral settlements. 1 n their first regulations they proposed to lease runs at £1 per 100 acres, now the rpbolve to reduce this to 10c, no one settler to be allowed to take more than 20,000 acres. We are, however, trying to have a poll tax substituted, which they sepm inclined to accede to. From 16s. to £l is the price of ewes imported ; but there are not above a thousand for sale. The risk of importing is so great, that I do not bee a likelihood of much further supply this season ; besides the dangers of the passage, generally about 10 per cent, die after landing, partly fiom the change from the hot hold to cold, blowy, or rainy weather, which may happen on their arival, and partly from the ' tutu,' a poisonous plant which the stock eat gieedily, and which has an effect on them not unlike Strychnine. Bleeding in the mouth is the cure, but they require to be sharply looked after at first. Alter about a month this plant ceases to affect them, and they thrive upon it. Every run ought to have some of it, as if taken from puie grass upon tutu, the danger is as great as ever. Cattle are hlso affected by it in the same way, but horses are not, its effects being confined to ruminating animals. Igo again on an excuision to the north, to see the country there. Do you think it could be managed, a contract to land young ewes here at 14s. per head, good fiamed sheep, not too fine? Let me know what will be my best plan of going to work with regard to funds. It is no place for mercantile business, the pockets of the much vaunted pilgrims not being too well lined. They have enough to do to pay for mutton, bread, and h'rpwood. Nothing like agriculture has commenced. The only article 1 know of that would pay, would be a limited quantity of good salt beef. Price of meat, beef and mutton, 6d. ; 4 lb. loaf, is. 2d. On one occasion we killed plenty of wild pigs, 5 or 6 a day, and could have killed almost any quantity ; they soon, however, retiied ; but we were almost th« first who had disturbed their solitude. Quaiis are very plentiful, ducks local, but with the exception of in the aforesaid bushes, animal life seems confined to lats and a few miserable larks. Some of the rivers contain eels, but there is no fishing, though the streams are grand enough to suggest most magnificent visions. In conclusion, there is do doubt this country is the best opening now, for limited capital, in the southern hemisphere, though the first expenses must be heavy. If I got my stock this season, L think I could manage to secure timber. There is no doubt theie will be a rush of Australians. Ido not wish to go beyond any of the large rivers, on account of the difficulty of getting wool or wethers over. My wis>h is to bieed up <is fast as I can, and aell out to return to the old shop. Mats or weapons are not manufactured on this island. The natives are reaping a rich harvest with their pork and potatoes, and are quite jolly. I shall probably make a trip to Wellington, and if I can get anything worth sending, will do so.— Ever yours truly, Ma its P. Stoddart.

[Prom the " LyttehonTiires," llth July.] Mr. Stodilart's letter whicb we published last Saturday is certainly not complimentary to the Canterbuiy folk. lie gives a vigorous sketch of the country — describes its features and its capabilities nt once with the delicate touch of an artist and the keen observation of a speculator; speaks of private matters in sentences which, however valuable as proving the genuineness of the writer, it was certainly a breach of confidence in his friend to publish ; nai rates some pig-hunting exploits on the plains ; and only alludes to the settlers as a most unimportant appendage to the new district, much in the same tone as he would have described a tribe or two of natives — " A few years will smash them all, and the country will fall into the hands of the set-tlei-s from older colonies." Thin-skinnedness is a very miserable fault: let us not exhibit that »t all events. Mr. Stoddart comes among us with the shrewdness of an old 6eitler ; he looks aiound him, and writes coufidenti.ily to his friend in Sydney what he thinks of us. We shall do better to take advantage of the chance which has thrown his letter into our hands, than to be angry with the writer. Few persons are so foitunate as to find out what the world does really think of them. The most important part of Mr. Stoddart's letter, is his unqualified admiration of thp country as favourable for the production of wool. The opinion of an old practical sheep-farmer is a valuable addition to the other testimony on this head. If the country be a good j sheep-feeding district, nothing can prevent its speedily becoming the seat of a most prospeious settlpmpnt. So ] far, that is in favour of the settlers alieady here. But alas, the same authority which predicted the fulfilment of their deaiest hopes in lespect to their promised land has decreed that their eyes shall not behold its fulfilment. Long be'ore our rich prairies are brought within the uses of civilization, the Pilgrims will be numbered with " the smashed." Why? what are the symptoms that the Canterbury settlers are to be ''smashed?" Is it because they do not exhibit a plentitude of loose I cash ? We have never believed that a new colony was the haunt of the rich. Is it because there have been extravagant expectations as to the class of colonists who were to form this new settlement? It may be so. It was certainly one of the chief features of the Canterbury scheme, that the colony was to be made as attractive as possible to gentlemen and gentlewomen. But we never heard it said that the colonists were likely to be rich. In those respects in which it was hoped the colony would become attractive, the experiment has been far from a failure. Mr. Stoddart has probably remarked himself the general character of decorum and sobriety which pervades the community, especially, the labouring classes : he would probably admit that in no colony which has ever yet been formed, has there been ' so large n population of gentlewomen engaged in the early struggles of the settlement, exercising all that elevating and refining influence, without which society rapidly degenerates. But it is absurd to suppose that individual colonists in a new settlement are rich. Some will indeed pretend to be rich, and speak as if they had conferred a favour on the colony by coming to it all. It is strange how tenacious men ate upon this point, how they dread being thought poor. Your friend wants to boirow money of you ; " just until be can get somg from England ; if he had only known it, he would have brought more with him ;" whilst every detail of a lady's miseries is wound up with a sigh, "so different from what we were accustomed to at home." And so it would really seem as if all were in league to keep up this grand farce, that they were all rich in England, and had come to the colony to voluntary exile and poverty. Why not confess at once the plain and manly tiutb, tbnt we are all poor, that we came to this colony because we were poor, nnd because we could not affoid to live in the station of life to whicb we belong, and therefore (came to a new land where we might engage in pursuits in themselves honourable, but in which we could not have engaged without loss of caste in our own country. The pockets of thp settlers who are raising those cheerful looking farms on the plains may not indeed be " well lined," but unless they pretend to be what they are not, they need not, and many of them will not, be "smashed." Some of com He will; some will not attend to their farms; some will dunk ; others will gamble; others will over speculate; others will not speculate enough. But under the present circumstances ot the colony, no man need be -mashed. It he have money enough to feed himself and his family till his crops come in, and have a plough and a pair of bullocks, nay if he have only a spade, ho must get on. The labour of his own band upon his own land must, with the present prices, yield him a rich harvest. If he have moie means, he can employ the labour of others, and his return will be lurger ; but in all cases, with common prudence, his capital will beieplaccd with large interest. We have said .it the present piicey, but the prices of all agricultural produce aie not in the lonst likely to fall. 'I he gold mama at Sydney, coming upon the failure of the 1 ist ciops, must, as lar as one can fuipsee any human event, advance the price of food. Add to this the expected immigration in September, and we doubt if all the capital and labour in the colony could, employed to the utmost, lovvei the price ol agiicultuial pioduce.

F.nming f'oi tlueo or four yeais must be» a most lucrative employment, so much so, that we shall 'hope to see not a lew of the 50 and 100 ane pilgrims at ilii* end of tbat timp, investing their piofits in the still more lucrative business of sheep feeding. But le^lhemjnever foiget tLn, we repeat it often, — it ii in themselves alone to fulfil or contradict the prediction.