New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, February 10, 1849.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 368, 10 February 1849, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, February 10, 1849.

AMONG the different subjects of importance affecting the advancement of the settlement, perhaps one of the most pressing at the present moment, is the inadequate supply of labour. In almost every walk of life this difficulty is felt ; in the town the slow progress of the buildings in hand, and the delays experienced in commencing new ones, arise from this cause, particularly from the want of carpenters, who are most in request, owing to the methods of buildings now adopted to avoid the dangers, arising from earthquakes. In the country the want of hands to carry on the necessary agricultural operations is felt still more severely, and unless the want is supplied must materially interfere in preventing the extension of cul-

tivation, The demand for labour in the different settlements of New Zealand is not of that fluctuating uncertain character which existed in the early stage of the colony : those impediments to our progress which have pressed most severely on the energies of the colonists are for the most part removed, and there is little danger to be apprehended of their recurrence. The demand for labour is the real want and cannot be too constantly reiterated. One of the most useful arguments in its favour is the publication of the annual statistics of the settlement, shewing the progress which has been made duiing the past year and the necessity which exists for a large influx of colonists. We hope this will not be much longer delayed, as it is most important that all the information of this kind which can be supplied should be published before the departure of the Cornelia, in order that she may take home the latest information on this subject in the power of the Government to afford. As soon as this information is supplied we shall return again to this subject.

On Thursday evening his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor gave his first ball and entertainment to the inhabitants of this settlement, on which occasion the new suite of rooms, recently added to Government House, were thrown open for dancing for which they were exceedingly well adapted. The Band of the 65th regt. was stationed in the verandah which was inclosed with boarding and lined with different coloured flags. The guests began to arrive shortly after nine o'clock, and were received by his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor and Mrs. M'Cleverty. There were upwards of two hundred persons present, including a great number of settlers, the officers of the garrison, and the officers of H. M. Steamer Acheron. Dancing commenced at ten o'clock, and was kept up with great animation throughout the evening, quadrilles, waltzes, and polkas following in quick succession. About one o'clock the guests sat down to a sumptuous and abundant supper, which was very tastefully, laid out in the verandah enclosing the entrance, which was converted into an excellent suite of temporary supper rooms. After supper his Excellency proposed the Queen's health which was drank with great enthusiasm, and when the ladies had retired their health was drank with appropriate honours. After supper dancing was again resumed, and the company did not separate until five o'clock in the morning after having spent a most agreeable evening, to which nothing was wanting that could in any way contribute to their enjoyment. We were very glad to see among the invited guests the venerable Epuni, Thompson (Te Rauparaha's son) and Martin, from Otaki. They were all three of them well dressed, not forgetting white kid gloves, and appeared to be deeply impressed with the novelty of the scene, and seemed to take the greatest interest in the different dances. This mark of attention paid by his Excellency to the native population of this settlement through three of the most influential and respectable of their number will not fail to have the happiest effect in strengthening the kindly feelings existing between the two races, and in increasing and stimulating the desire of the natives to imitate the habits of the pakeha.

In the Hutt district a steady progressive improvement is observable in the extension of cultivation during the present year. With regard to wheat, many lands which had previously remained unreclaimed are now yielding a most bountiful return. The early crop of potatoes from various causes is not expected to equal that of former years in the amount of produce, but the later crop has a most promising appearance. The late storm of rain in the beginning of the week, whileit has not injured the corn in the slightest degree, has been of very great service to the potatoes ; oats and barley have not been extensively cultivated, but wherever they have been grown, their yield, especially that of the former crop, has been most encouraging to the farmer. Owing to the detached nature of the cultivations, and the intervening belts of standing bush, it is difficult to arrive at a correct estimate of the actual extent of land under cultivation, but the attention even of the casual visitor must be forcibly arrested by the rapid changes and improvements which are almost daily perceptible in the district, and in the increasing extent of cleared land. The Waiwetu district presents features of peculiar interest to the agriculturist, and the road connecting this part of the valley with the principal line of road leading through the district will prove of very great service to those having farms in this neighbourhood. The great drawback of the district, as it is indeed of the settlement generally, is the high' price of labour and the difficulty of procuring hands, even at the present advanced rate of wages ; this fetters the energies of those enterprising persons who have

devoted themselves to agricultural pursuits, and limits to a certain extent the productiveness of the district ; the want of lahour is most severely felt at this time of the year when the crops are ripe for harvest, the operations of which are greatly delayed 'from this cause, and unless an additional supply of labour is received it must have the effect of checking the cultivation of grain crops by Europeans. The dock has spread rapidly through the district and threatens to become an evil of some magnitude, as wherever the land is suffered to be fallow, or is laid down in grass, the seeds are scattered over the field, and are also carried down by freshes from the upper part of the valley, entailing a very heavy expense on the farmer in his attempts to rid his land of this weed, which in some countries is emphatically called the Farmer's curse. The road through the valley to Wairarapa, although still unfinished, has already proved a great boon to the settlers and has been the principal means of giving that impetus to cultivation which is so perceptible in the district.

A handsome silver medal has been presented by a club called the Philharmonic Society, established at Wellington for the purpose of cultivating a taste for music, to T. Taylor, corporal of the Band of the 65th Regt., for the assistance he has afforded their society. The medal is the production of Mr. Marriott, and is a very favourable specimen of his taste and skill ; on the obverse is engraved a group of musical instruments with the words — Harmony unites us, and the date of the establishment of the Society ; on the reverse is the following inscription :— " Presented to Mr. Thos. Taylor, 65th Regt., by the Members of the Philharmonic Society, Wellington, New Zealand, with a desire of recording their obligations to him for the zeal and ability with which he has conducted their band."

Programme of the performance by the Band of the 65th .Regiment, at Thorndon Flat, on Tuesday, the 13th February : — 1. Overture — Le Duc D'Olonne . . . . Auber 2. 1st selection — Maid of Honor. . . . Jullien 3. The Swiss Quadrille. . . . Jullien 4. O Gloria D'Onente oh di Son Fortuna. Costa 2. Olga ; or the Princess Waltz . . . . Jullien 6. Polonaise . . . . Brebtzant 7. Galop — Postilion de Lonjumeau . . . . Adams 8. Eclipse Polka . . . . Koenig