LYTTELTON.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 593, 9 April 1851, Page 3

LYTTELTON.

[From the Lyttelton Times, March 29.] Another week has elapsed in the quiet, but busy routine of occupations, which, how svor they may fill up the most stirring period in the lives of most of our colonists, leave but little worthy of record in the chronicles of the community. The bad weather, which lasted for some time, seemed co frighten the settlers from combating with the troubles of settling on their land before the winter; but in the last week we have had a return to the full glories of our climate. Tbe mornings and evenings are cold and bright; the atmosphere so calm that the early riser at Lyttelton can almost distinguish the forms of vegetation on the hills, on the opposite side of the harbour; whilst at Christchurch, the snow on tbe distant range seems sometimes to bring the mountains from their real position in the distance, to the close neighbourhood of tbe town. Several of the settlers are now busily engaged in building their houses on their rural land, and thereby avoid the trouble to which the less courageous are exposed, of settling first in the towns and afterwards going into the country.

The state of the paths on the plains is improving—for some days the bogs were so wet as to render them almost impassable, now however, they are rapidly hardening; and that part of the bridge over the Heathcote, which had been carried away, is repaired, The settlers have however, learnt how valuable, indeed how absolutely necessary are goods roads in a colony. It is satisfactory to

think that as soon as the road from the Ferry to Christchurch is finished, the communication by means of the bridle-path and the berry, will be open from the port to the plains before winter fairly sets in. We have again to record the discovery of a valuable building stone close to the Heathcote river> It is said to be better than either of those we have previously noticed. We shall give a more particular description of it next week.

, Our readers will also be glad to hear that tnere is a probability of a public reading room eing opened both at Christchurch and at Lyttelton, in the course of a few weeks. The fall in the price of the bread which we noticed the week before last, will, it appears from the price of flour, be maintained. Flour at the auction sales has been sold as low as 20s. the hundred pounds. Meat, however, is rising in price, and must do so unless there be considerable imnn.tofinno -- - DLULIX 1U HJC course of the next few months. This, however, is not a matter of anxiety, for in the opinion of all the old settlers who have visited our colony, the plains must before long be filled with stock of all descriptions. Two men were drowned at the mouth of the river on Friday week last.