CANTERBURY.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 93, 25 September 1863, Page 2

CANTERBURY.

("FROM OUR OWN" CORRESPONDENT.) Christchurch, Sept. 14, 1863. The piincipal event during the past fortnight has been the sitting of the Supreme Court, which was occupied with the criminal business from the Ist to the Bth inst. The calendar was an unusually heavy one, both . as regards the number and gravity of the oSences. There were twenty-five cases for trial, including a charge of murder, one of stabbing, one of aggravated assault, with the addition of two cases of housebreaking, and several of embezzlement, larceny, and other minor offences. However, both judge and jury seemed willing to take a lenient view of things, so acquittals were numerous and sen- " tences easj r . The trial for murder of course attracted the greatest share of public attention. There could be no doubt, but that the accused, a man named Lumley, was guilty of killing the deceased, O'Connor, by stabbing him twice with his knife ; but his counsel, Mr Moorhouse, our late Superintendent, who has resumed the practice of his profession, brought evidence to show, that O'Cqffnor had bad some previous altercation, during which O'Connor struck him more than once, used insulting language, and finally endeavored to ' put him out of the room by force. Being then, according to his counsel's statement, a man of a very weak and timid disposition, tbis treatment excited him into such a state of frenzy as almost to drive him out of his senses, and in this condition he drew his knife, rushed at his opponent, and inflicted the injuries of which he died. Both judge and jury agreed in thinking that there %vas a good deal of truth in this representation of the case, for he was found guilty only of manslaughter and sentenced to three years'imprisonment. lam not at all surprised, at the jury receiving with favor any evidence that would conscientiously justify them in returning the milder verdict, but allowing the greatest stress to the alleged provocation, the punishment seems to me, an* J I think to most others, very inadequate to the offence. .-His Ho. ior, in charging the Grand Jury, gave a prominent place to a complaint which hns been for some time an established form on such occasions, the miserable state of. gaol accommodation in this province, and tlie Grand Jury in their presentment also remarked upon the increasing necessity for a proper bttilding for the use of the Supreme Court, aud the great inconvenience jinflicted on* all parties concerned, even to the detriment of public justice, by the system of holdingthe sessions of the Court in the Town Hall. Why so long standing a complaint should be allowed to exist in either case I cannot understand. The Council, I believe, have voted the money long ago for both purposes, and no one can suppose that the expenditure of a few thousands more or less is regarded by the Executive Government as anything but a flea bite. but their ideas somehow do not seem capable of rising to anything beyond roads orculverts. Yet it is an ill wind that blows nobody good. Christchurch may congratulate itself that remissness has saved it from the infliction of a monstrously ugljr arid, probably, very inconvenient building. The Provincial Council has been going on with its work very quietly and very slowly. A .few Bills of local or Provincial interest have passed the third reading, and have been assented to by his Honor the Superintendent. The Estimates are gradually passing through the House, and, just as I had expected.^ after all the strong opinions expressed on all sides at the beginning of the session that they were framed on a scale of unpardonable extravagance, and the stern determination avowedby every member in turn to cut -them down remorsely on their passage through" Committee, they have hitherto escaped almost entirely without reduction, and more than one proposition has been brought forward for the addition of a little item which it struck some member his constituents would not be pleased to see omitted. The only particular disallowance tas been of a sum set down for subsidising a steamer direct between Lyttelton and Melbourne ; a communication which it was thought was sufficiently kept up by way of Otago. The most lively discussion* for some time back took place on Thursday evening, respecting the tender which Messrs Holmes and Co., the railway contractors, had sent in for leasing that part of the line between Christchurch and the river Heathcote, now in course of construction, and which will be open forpublictraffic ih les 1 ! than v-iwo months. The goods traffic likely to pass along this line in the . course of a, year was variously estimated at from 70,000 to 100,000 tons, and the passenger traffic lwill, ho doubt, form a considerable -addition, so that it was argued, even supposing Sthe price of carriage to be reduced to a sufficiently low figure to overcome all possible ' competition, the returns will be" sq. great as -to^ justify the demand of a large" increase in the rental offered by Messrs Holmes; andsCo. ;.;**- which increased sum it was very likely, that if the offer were - in ade public,-; some : one -might be found willing to pay. TlieiCouncil adopted this view and resolved that-,the lease should be put up to tender — thb lease to be for three years. * It is rather a pity'that all this was

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hot thought of some time afbfpis th e j. be 'ready for worting longpbefore th|n can come in. ~~1 exgeet it vjlll ea& v Holmes and Cb raisings the. termi sott and Government accpptlag^their ne*. rather" than allow,, the line 1 to,renJ longer useless loathe public. I believe I mentioned in my last letj, names of the three candidates for thei , seats in the House of Representatives^* Cox, Wilkin, and Walker — I have no* another, 'Captain Greavps, who *wiu. with Mr Walker, the -represent*^ Akaroa. No other candidate has, orjj to come forward for the other t«o Mr FitzGerald ismot to be allowed to, He met his constituents at a large, meeting held in Lyttelton on the io ; delivered « long address explanatory opinions as to the state of affairs in tht Island, and the policy that should bep in the present critical circumstance* ended by saying that it would be , going to the Assembly if he was to J •with the charge of not' represent*; opinions of his constituents^ and that, iore, such being his views, if the meet not approve of them he placed his resu in their hands. ' A resolution was ft. posed to ,the effect that the district greatly regret Mr Fit2Gerald's resij and begged him to continue to re; them-j arid this resolution was carriei votes against 4, out of those who, as c were called on for their opinions. I ,-We have had two new arrivals of en Vessels, the Captain Cook and the Acct bringing between. themnearly 700 imn The Captain CoDk on arriving Jn*** p incontinently clapped in quarantine, a fever prevailing dvi board, with a smaU-po^reported xas'having occurr* in the voyage. *■ ~ The 'passengers "d c strongly to-" this proceeding, and thi surgeon seemed to .consider himself pa insulted by it. Some violent cbrresp 'ensued,' ahd a most'ijidigpWt protest! passengers was .pubtisHed- in the i Tinies, but their troubles are. over atl they * now seem disposed rather to c them. as" evils* of- ; the kind 7 whia . pleasant than "otherwise to 100k 7 baJ| It must certainly be veryvahnbyingoji ing port after a long ; voyage,' (and til of New Zealand were the first land the Captain Cook since-losing sight ■ land) to be forbidden to leave the va I don't wonder at . their * displacing deal of irritation, especially; as the; additional ill-luck of encountering a worst week's weather - we have h winter. The A cerington people,- t00,.! their share of ill-fortune of the sac though from a different cause. Th broke into the hold during the yoj made free with the cargo at a great no one was allowed to go ashore tilla overhaul had taken place, the resulti has been to consign seven or eight bf to the ranks' of the' hard labor j Lyttleton. We have been threatened . with a strike amang the carpenters and \ Christchurch. They had a trade i last week, and decided that unless would raise the ordinary rate of. wa 10s. to 12s. a-day, they would 'oris refuse to work this morning. Howe out of ten after all came to work,! either I suppose having thought betfe els^, wliich I expect to be the case, & \ thing was got up' by a few malcont* did not by any means represent the feeling of the trade. The dearnea visions was given as the great reason movement, but it is not very clear! can particularly affect the carpenb than any other class *of the- com while on the other hand, though the wage is 10s a-day, it is well known tl huud who is worth it gets" his lls or a certainty of constant work, too, tt year round; But these trade combiiu getting common here. The liver keepers began it, and their exam followed by the bakers, ahd lately the have adopted the same plan s issued circulars signed by all in;-* stating what is to be the price of mea future, and also limiting,credit,fortl strictly to the period of one. mon; best of the joke is, that the high' pria here has, always been a grievance, '■» butchers have defended chiefly on tl of their having to give long crei sudden cutting short of credit is n: panied with .any .reduction in the meat. - The Christy Minstrels, who are 3 as about to visit Canterbury, ha**i made their appearance,, arid we are of the expected pleasure; of wita performance of the Princess's Drams pany, whose engagement will.not pa leaving Dunedin. In- the meahtii Aitken is giving- asei-les of read! authors both tragic ', and a comic. Hei formance took place : this evening, attended, and seemed to give satisfy . — — TT-^rrrr-r- '

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