NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, November 3, 1852.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 757, 3 November 1852, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, November 3, 1852.

1 The Duke of Portland's mail was received yesterday by the Agnes and Hannah, from Lyttelton, the latest English dates being to the 3rd July, so that the. news by this arrival has been anticipated by previous arrivals from Sydney." We have been kindly furnished with a copy of the New Zealand Constitution Bill as amended in the "House of Commons and, (as no alterations were made in the House of Lords) we may conclude in the form in which it has been enacted. We intend to publish it in our next number. Several petitions had been presented to the House of Commons on the subject of the Bill, which we find printed in the New Zealand Journal of ' June 18th, by Mr. E. G-. Wakefield/by Mr.. Fox, who appears to be indefatigable in- seizing every opportunity of bringing himself.- into notice by palming himself off as the'Politieal Agent of the Wellington Settlers, by the Otago and Canterbury Associations,' &c. , ■ -> ->,• , The New Zealand Journal states that " the , 89th regiment, now stationed at Clonmel, are under orders for New Zealand." The same

journal publishes the prospectus of a new Zealand Local Steam Navigation Company to which the name of a Mr. John Edwards is attached as Secretary pro tern., and which seems tolje an imposition. Not one person in England is named as giving the slightest character or" confidence to the scheme, while one of the " Committee of Management at Nelson," who accidentally saw the prospectus copied into a Sydney paper, wrote the other day to the Examiner to repudiate any connection with the scheme, and to enquire who this Mr. Edwards was. We learn i ndeed on good authority that Messrs. Willis and Co., who are already largely engaged in the shipping interests of this colony, are making arrangements for the introduction of screw steamers for the purpose of local steam communication between the different settlements, and through their exertions we make' no doubt that New Zealand will very shortly obtain this advantage, the importance of which it is impossible to exaggerate. A statement had been made in the Times of June 14th, on the authority of its Sydney news, that "Canterbury was deserted and Wellington nearly so" by the settlers flocking ,to the diggings, but this statement was contradicted a few days afterwards on the authority of letters fro m Wellington. The True Briton was advertised to sail for Wellington and other Ports on the 15th July. We understand she is to bring a detachment of troops forthiscolony. TheCanterbury Association, we presume by this time is defunct, or according to the Lyttelton Times, " had determined to suspend all active operations," having given, notice to those in its employment that their services would not be required after the 9th September.