CANTERBURY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 299, 4 December 1862, Page 6

CANTERBURY.

(FfiOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) CHKisTCHTTncH, Dee. 1,1862.

Our Provincial Council is at length approaching the termination of its labors, greatly, I should imagine, to the relief of some of its members ; for several' of .its sittings lately have been very thinly attended, and once or twice it has required active whipping^ ■ even to get together a quorum. But a good' deal of work has been got through nevertheless, and that too of an important character. Among other matters a committee on the Public Works and other departments, have brought up a report recommending that the present department of Public Works should be broken up, and the whole work of constructing ordinary roads be entrusted to local boards, with an appropriation of a fixed proportion of the land fund raised out of each district. The question of Hhe reserves temporarily made by the Superintendent' duriug the recess, and at what time, if disallowed by the Council, they are legally open to public purchase; has been brought prominently forward by the fact that the Council has disapproved of the system of makiug reserves of land as endowments for municipal corporations; and therefore the blocks reserved for the Lyttelton and Christchurch municipalities will shortly be brought again into; the market. - During the last session it happened that, the reserve of tlie Kowai coal fields having been disallowad by tlie Council, next morning the whole was boughtupby an individual speculator; and as the agent through whom the purchase was effected was a member of the Council, and iri that capacity had voted against the reserve, nothing could persuade a large portion of the public but that there was sometbmg underhand in the matter, and his morning's stroke of husines^ cost the unfortunate legislator his seat. On the present occasion, Mr Fitzgerald.started the following pomt:—that as the law provides that " the Superintendent may, if the Provincial Council be not sitting, temporarily reseive land until the next sitting tf the Council," these words mean to the end of the session. He was of opinion that the regular course Wisfor the Council to recommend the Superintendent to make such reserves, 'and that if thhi recommendation was net made at any time during the sitting, at its close they would be thrown open to the public. The Provincial Solicitor, after taking turie to consider the question, gave an opinion iri favor of the course hitherto pursued j but he did not seem to have claarly understood Mr Fitzgerald's point, and as it was obvious that this decision was unsatisfactory to the Council and the public, the difficulty still^reriiains Unsolved. A strong expression of feeling has been proevoked during the past week by the extravagant claims' made on the Government for compensation in various; case*, and the excessive amounts awarded in; one or two cases when the matter had been submitted to arbitration.- : One of these gentlemen, Mr J. Hall, the Resident Magistrate of Cbristclmrch, who bad beep lucky enough to obtain .in award in his favor of something over £600 > findirig/the Governriient reluctant to cash up, with prd&sstOrial alacrity appealed*6,tite>; law, ''whereof he"is;a well deserving pillar, -f for assistance, arid summarily enforced hisiclaim by put--ting an execution in the Government buildings. Thfei happened while Thatcher Was in Canterbury, and you riiay-easily imagine how he wouldrevel in; so rare a chance of poking, fun at the doers. But Mr Hall mu?t hide his diminished head before Mr. Peacock.; This last' gentleman has found arbitrators; who ■• have actually awarded him at; the-" rate of (ia round numbers) nearly £40,000 per acre"^ for a : small plot of leasehold land wanted/ for the railway. However, this was thought- going a little too far, and the voice of the public was loud ;in • condemnation. On Friday last the Council took the matter up,; and; after' many of the members had spoken their minds upon '■■; the business with sufficient distinctness, the HonsA unanimouslyl ngreedto a pro-: portion made by Mr Fitzgerald, that on Tuesday next I they should resolve themselves into a coriunitfee to enquire into the 2whole affair; arid summbri to their-' bar the two arbitrators,^ to be examined as to the orii which; tbey had pronounced their extr ii-; i ordinary 'A decision';', Anothermeasure^ and perhaps the iribst^ deservirig? of notice, is one;; which appropriates £1.0,00,0.. for, the'next two.yerirs towards the building of nm placesofputtie wbrshj|), sricK*sum to be divided airiorig the several r^iel^ ing m theProvmeej butno application: for^riyportion to'be entertained, "unless'ariequal aniountto that asked for shall have been raised byAprivateisub'scriptiori;' ahdc a satisfactory guai^tee g^nfthat<a suitable iriairitehance be; provided for a toy officiate iritbechurchJprpppsed^to be* erected, for "■ a period of &tleast<tbree:-yeaw^#';;#;f: -vfi-i^i\ ify 7?a:< It seems that at last the vacant space in the centre of Ohnst^urchi krioviha as : Cathedral S<juare3is not:-. much 'longer ,to remain a standing reproach to the irihabitajats ?for their 'dowries^ ? about «the* briildiri^l--in^'ariticip^6ri; of named; ■ t Notthatfth© idealoft^ecatliedw#aSev(ar been abandoned. It hos always been a settled -point with thepeopleof Canterbury, that sooner or 'later tlie' prigiriei jnfe^idri $t tlie^fonuder of^ the settleriiSnt^ Bhould be carried into effect, and the long-desired site - wbich> baa been for^sri reason forthe:d^^ysbaalfeefi -thb d^ire'bf erebtirijg^ a> building which'should be really worthy of tbe .name of cathedral. Various plana have at- different times been propose*. 1, some parties advocating a 1 massive wooden B^tfcture; others -preferring stone; while a propositiorfwas once made, but I believe ifrmet with very few' supporters, to have a-iraady-ttinde iron cathedral sertVout iron* England.^ Gilbert has been fpr Bomo time .employed-in preparing designs fair the intended edifice, a general plan" of which-has' beetfforwaJtded* to-the^Brovitice, 'ftfcdSt.iasone.whltoh* would be worthy of the architect aud a lasting honor to Canterbury. Tbe LyMtvn Times bag My taken

up the subject very warmly, and devoted a series of articles-to u«-ge o:t the people to - immediately commence tbe wor<, and* riot iw-ting 'satisfied with exhortations however emphatic, the*, proprietors have nobiyprovei their earnestness in the cause by heading the promise of a subscription list with the munificent sum'of LSOO. These exertions have met with deserved success. A meeting was hel I at Christchurch on Wednesday evening, to consider the bast means of supplying the increase! church accommodation which the pa-ish has for a long time urgently required. At an early stage ef the proceedings one of the speakers sunge'tcd the idea of beginning: the cathedral, and no sooner was this iiea broiched than it was caught up with the greatest enthusiasm hy all present, the original intention of the meeting was altogether lost sieh> of in the greater object presented to ib, and rejecting all minor proposals^ it determined by a large majority ' that the time has now a-rived for building tht^ cathedral, and that steps should be at once taken to raise subscriptions ii the parish, and thetfiocesc for that purpose." A second meeting will be held to-night, to discuss the question more in detail, and to consider also wh-it temporary arrangements c*n be best adopted for the immediate requirements of the parishioners.

A report has been going about Christchurch lately, of gold having been found in large quantities near Mount' Cook, and a fine spcciuien was.exbibited in pue1 ofthe jeweller's shops, of which the man who sold it professed not to know whether it was gold or not, but 'declared he had brought it(from a place wbeire «(jbhere;was mors than all Christchurch could.buy up." ■ Assured of the fact that his specimen was real gold, he declared hisintentiou of starting off at on.cc ; fora fresh-supply. However; one; story is good till ariotber is told, and I have heard-a very different accountof the original Jtabitdi of tbispartlcularnugget.According to this second version, it was recognized by an old digger \ from;- Otago or Australia (I forget which), as a specimen ha.had himself discovered. : He kriew.it again by its particular shape. I don't know; exactly how it came into the hands Of the second party. The whole story seems to-be something of the genus cariargl, though riot so literally as that of the duO.ksC ' ■A-.A-fa - %■? :Afa'A:ii^::-faAi,i;-:-A-fa.['. -,'.-.■■

; The;humber of deaths' from drowning within the last few weeks bave been really frightful. A fortnight ago three inqueste'Were held on the same day, and on Wednesday last the ill-oniened Rakaia was the scene of another fatal accident. Mr Sition Stace, the son of one of our oldest, settlers, was; crossing cattle, and there being a fresh in the river, was carried down to a spot where the beach was too pre-.; cipitous to admit of a lauding His horse became frightened and unmanageable, and at last wasroKed ovt-r and bme down by the current. Assistance was speedily at hand, but, though the body was soon recovered, it w:is too late for any efforts at reanim-ition, to be availing. Mr Stace was wtll known to the settlors in: thev southern part of the Province, amongst whom his many good qualities had made him a general favorite. - '■ The following is ,a statement of the quantity of land sold on; the; several Board days during this nionth :-^~November } % 575 acres ; November 9, 1,009£ acres; November 17. 2,577 acres; November 24,' 6.836 acres;—making a' total for the month of 11,047£ acres, which, at the.fixed price'of L2 an acre,would amount to L' 22,094. Some part of this, however, was sold by auction, and; fetched considerably more than the ordinary rate. The large t purchase was mape by Dr Lillie, who bought 5,000 acres.in [one Mock. A heavy sale is expected during next month; as the municipal reserves will be declared open .after the Council has-risen, and so mauy parties are looking cut for them, that the whole will doubtless be sold in a very short time after they are thrown open for selection.