CANTERBURY.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 107, 29 October 1858, Page 2

CANTERBURY.

We have received Canterbury papers to the 20th instant.

The returns of land sold at the Land Office, Christchurch, during the quarter ended Sept. 30, shew the following monthly receipts from this source:— July £4356 2 . August v 2780 0 September 50912.

T0ta1.:.... £12;227 0. The June quarter, receipts were £16,878 155., and those of the March quarter £13,568 10s. The total land. sales of the nine months past have brought Jo. therefore £42,674 7s. Five million acres are occupied under pastoral licenses in this province. Therental will amount this year to about £10,000. Tlie balance in the Treasury on the opening of the Provincial Council amounted to £25,619 ss. 2d. The expenditure during the last three months has exceeded-£15,000. A Bill has-been brought into the Provincial Council to regulate Immigrants Banacks, on which the Lyttelton ■■lime*" makes the following remarks :— ,' ';?*■! ' "So far then as preventing injury from the 'old hand' to the new,chum, or of repressing disturbances among the immigrants themselves may go, the new bill will be useful. But we cannot omit to remark that some legislation seems almost equally necessary to restrain the immigrant- from .overbearing conduct towards the established colonist.- It is notorious, that the most recently arrived individual has the most exalted notion of the freedom and wealth, which he is to enjoy in his new home. It-, has appeared 1 to us in some instances as if the new chum considered himself to -have been presented with absolution from -Adam's .curse for the rest of his life, together'"with the moiety of his passage money. This sort of idea is most prevalent among those who have done least for themselves. Already the capitalist very often comes to our shores considering hard work to be the tie plus ultra of colonial existence; the prudent father who has pinched himself to bring out a family, sometimes displays an eagerness to obtain employment; but the young ones (and -more particularly • the -young "women), who: have to thank others for their passage money, have positively to be cajoled into allowing themselves to earn money by the labor of their hands." Some statistical tables are published from "which we learn that the whole number of natives in the province is only 545, the children being in the proportion of one to five adults. The acres of land under cultivation by these natives are in all, 498 in wheat, 24 in oats, 286_r in potatoes, sin other crops; total 813£, the amount being pretty evenly distributed among all the East Coast Settlements. From the West Coast there are no returns of land under cultivation. The live stock possessed by the natives.are in number 78 horses, 232 head of cattle; 1823 pigs, but no mules, asses, goats, nor sheep. The stock possessedat Taumutu, Tewai-a-teruati, and on the West Coast are not returned.' At those places from which returns are given the numbers* of live stock are very nearly in exact proportion to the population. > Fata.. Accident.—On Thursday morning, the 17th ultimo, a fine little boy, aged eight years, son of Mr. Breitmeyer, of German Bay, was sent to lead home a mare that had strayed away. The boy, having caught the mare,' thought -if he fastened one end of the rope round himself—the other end being attached to the mare's neck—he shduld be sure of preventing the mare from running away. He unfortunately did so. The mare went quietly along till within sight of Mr. Breitmeyer 1! house, when, begifihing'to gallop,1 she dragged ihe Unfortunate boy after her down the hill which leads to German Bay. On being released from his perilous situation, the poor boy was found to be so seriously injured, that, notwithstanding-medical aid was promptly on the spot, he died in about an hour. The inquest was held on the 19th ultimo, at the house of his father, before J. Watson*; Esq., It.M., acting as coroner. The evidence corroborated the above statement, and a verdict of " accidental death" was returned.— Lyttelton Times, October 13.