PICTON.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 13, 7 December 1863, Page 2

PICTON.

I (FROM OUB OWN COBKESPQKpKKT.)' I • - ''-•'• Noverftber 30tbi l&8r\. '- t .■■■''- v--, -■.' ._..-. - *- J. •*-'■' In my present communication, you must<excuse me if I simply confine myself to describing,. a* accurately as possible, the present condition o Pieton: ..••'>'* .^-w *"" ' * Many people are apt to imagine tfoa to-h* an - entirely shut-out-from-the-wo'rH pdaee^Vbut in no respect do I thick it deserves tnat.tdejngnation; as, amongst other things, it is reached within a fe\r hours from Neleoa and Wellington, inbre ' especially the latter. All New Zealand Provinces - have, by degrees, attained a high position, and Marlborough, although but very recently formed into a Province, ' bids-fair, especially if the Wairau Railway becomes a reality, to increase rapidly in, f population, exports, and revenue. Our Super* > intendent, Mr Carter, .however, do»s not seem to manifest that regard, for its interests which he o git. fij the last mail we received intelligence — rather of a disheartenine; nature to the. majority of the people — -to the eff.-ct that the Governor; i" with tbe -advice and consent of hie adviser*, bad refused his assent to the' Wairau and Pieton Railway Loan Bill. In transmitting this Sill to Auckland, the in a lengthy letter, \ hich must have taken him some considerable time to write — if, indeed, he -wrote kr allthrows cold water on the railway project,' whilst at tho same time he would have his constituents, to judge from certain parts of his letter, -believe that he was desirous of furthering their interest* to the best of bis ability. His foolish and incorrect representations as to th© impracticability of the scheme would, if tbero were 'no* other causes, tend to the disallowance of the Bill ; for the opinions of a man in so exalted a station as Superintendent, must have weight ooewny or the other. Ido not coueeive tliw/it was bis duty t» have stated any objections,-^] I am inclined to think that the new Al inisf ers even knew far more about the question than Career. 'However, the case stands thus: the Bill has not been sanctioned,, and the Superintendent has done little in its favor. He would at the present -moment stand - far higher in t;he estimation of the inhabitants of this Province, if, instead o£ wrttin? a long very unofficial and foolish JettWj he had, whert transmitting the sAMNBiII, writtln a few. sensible remarks. I Jnny be wrong in my observations, bat the letter, as I rea i it, and Mr Fox's reply in the Marlborough Press {supplement}, November 14, induced me to make the foregoing remarks. I now proceed to describe Pieton. There areabout 100 homes, some of them neatly built, aad others in course of erection. There is far more room to build than in Lyttelton. Hills, densely covered with timber — at present the chief export of this Province nest to wool — are on every side, and from almost every part the harbor is visible. *'-; There is pretty secure anchorage for vessels, a tolerab'y substantial wharf (new. regulations for which have just been issued), and tho steainshij™]^ came up to it within twenty yaVd's of the shore* - - There is a Mechanics' Institute and a Public Library, the terms for wl-iclv are about 3s per . q uar ter. The volunteers, numbering up wards'pf thirty, are drilled every Saturdajy afternoon, and present a tolerably respectable appearance. There is a cricket club, the members of which ought to have more practice. We have a Pieton. band of music. A building society has bsen formed, and is progressing satisfactorily. The Govern ent buildings — about the size of the Dunedin Clubhouse — presents neat and plain appearance; they are painted white. There is a clock to them oa the outside, but, like the one at St. Paul's church, Wellington, it seldom goes. Trinity (Church of England) Church is tapable of accommodating about 350 persons. It is a very plain, if not ugly looking building, with a long slanting shingled roof. The windows are long^ twA very narrow- There is not the slightest approach to architecture about the building, but. of nothing can I reasonably complain iv this., respect, considering tbe smallness of the place. The Rev. H. Butt comes over from the Wairau topreach in it every other Suuday. The gaol is a ? commodious building — more like the residence of some gentleman. It is at present I believe empty, the two prisoners that were in it — two natives, for murder— having gone for trial to Nelson, in the Phoebe, under charge of Sergeant Kennedy. The whole gaol department have also proceeded thither, and the gaol is left in charge of One man, whose amusement chiefly consists in gardening. I may here observe there are some very good gardens here, in which, ere long, there will be plenty of fruit, and, already, there are plenty of vegetables. Milk, butter, and chesse, are very scarce. The second article is imported chiefly from Nelson. A dairy would, I think, pay. Firewood is plentiful enough, and can be procured at present, by thoso who take the trouble to cut it, a short distance-out of town for nothing. Its price per cord is about £1. Tuere are one or two saw-mills. There aro several large stores, the principal of which is Mr J. M'Beth's. Mr Cuthbertson is about to open another shortly. There are two butchers shops, one baker, one blacksmith, and two small shops where they sell small goods. There is no chemist here, and as is usually tbe casein new districts • no barber! Laborers employed on the roan's receive 6s per day, wot and dry. Shearing also gives full employment to th se adepts at the art. Carpenters, tor whom. there is a sufficiency to meet all demands, receive 10s per day. There is a Church of England School here, at which a large number of the juveniles of the place receive a tolerably good education at reasonable rates. There is plenty of Manuka scrub all about, which, when cut and dried tor a short time, is admirably adapted fur lighting fires. - A large stream (over which there is an expensive and very ricketty bridge), running through the town — by some termed a " city "—supplies tho inhabitants, of whom, in the Province, there- are about 1600 — with tolerably good water. < Stumps of large charred trees abound in various parts, and would it 'd to the neatness of jthe town wore they, removed. Cattle are pastured with great facility all about Pieton. The weather latterly, hasbeen very fine, though for tbe -laatweek, we have had a slight shawer of rain daily. • There is, I believe, much drought ia summer. The wind blows pretty strong at times. The changes, however, from fine to bad weather, are said to be very sudden. Our shipping intelligence for the month consists of — Arrivals, steamers, 5 ; sailing vessels, 4 ; departures, 5 of the former, and 6 of the Utter." The Marlborough Press, at the commencement of 1864, is to be published twice a week, "in order to keep pace with the rapidly increasing requirements of the Province." The office is being considerably enlarged. Should bis Kxcellency the Governor not order otherwise, the Maori, Hone Pokikt, recently .tied ; before his Honor Judge Johnston, at the Supreme Court, Nelson, and convicted, mainly on circum^ stantial evidence, of the murder of a child nameZ-f' Grant, at the Pelows, will undergo tli9 extreme penalty of the law in the precincts of Pieton Gaol. This will be tbe second case of this nature, if it takes place, that has occurred in this ' Province. The Phoebe has just arrived from the North, and, in consequence of the non-arrival at Wellington, when the lady Bird left there for this port on the 21st inst,, of the Wonga Wohga' (four days then overdue), brings us a fortnight's later news from the seat of war. ." The electoral roll fpr this Province is in;c©ura© of publication. There are eleven district*,' a.bout 500 electors (chiefly freeholders), and fifteen members of Council. >