NOTES FROM NELSON.

Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette, Volume VI, Issue 280, 3 July 1886, Page 2

NOTES FROM NELSON.

(from our own correspondent.)

Behind the Times.

There was considerable interest felt here as to the result of the Hawke's Bay steeplechase meeting, run last Thursday, as a Nelson horse, Forest King, was a competitor, and carried some local capital. The horse had proved himself a last one, and tolerably safe over timber, but he had never seen a stiff water jump or stone wall. So that when his backers eagerly scanned the sporting columns of the Slop Bucket on Friday morning, and found no report, they called that highly respectable journal a measly rag aud other opprobrious epithets for not having published the records of the interesting event. Saturday morning's paper also failed to enlighten them, and it was not till Monday that the S. B. gave its subscribers a hash up of the report of the race, clipped from the Wellington papers. The sporting men are very indignant, but I don't see that they ought to consider themselves worse treated than any other section of the Slop Bucket's subscribers; for if they don't get late news, nobody else does, so they havn't got so much reason to cuss the poor old thing as they would lead us to believe, and as a matter of fact the Evening Granny was just as lax in giving the news, which came quite scon enough for those who had backed the horse.

The Bible in Schools.

Year after year attempts are made to introduce Bible reading into the public schools ; and as often as the attempts are made they are frustrated. Our education is supposed to be free and secular, and the introduction of the bible has always been objectionable to the majority; the chief reason being the fear of sectarian teaching. And if the public schools were the only place where such teaching could take place there might be some reason for the advocacy of it; but as it is, there are Sunday schools belonging to every sect in the-place; and the teachers there can guide the scholars in any tenets they may feel inclined to, without giving offence to the opinions of others. It is iu these schools and at home that children should be taught religion. A the last election of the town committee a decided set was made to return members who were known advocates of bible teaching, and through the agency of the absurd cumulative system of voting some new blood was introduced. They opened the campaigu at a meeting this week, and their tactics were of a very artful natuiv. The Rev. Mr Kempthorne, who is an Angelican pastor and a member of the school committee, waited his time until the ordinary business of the meeting was over, and then attempted a surprise. He began by reading a letter from himself and a brother parson ad-

dressed to the committee, asking for permission to use the town schools for bible reading before and after school hours; and evidently had counted noses, and expedite to cany his point that night. The chairman was just a little too wideawake for him ; and showed to the committee, in so forcible a manner, that the request was so palpably a one- sided affair, and indefinite, inasmuch as it did not even mention the days and ;hours on which the said teaching was to take place that the committee decided to postpone the discussion.

Now the Education Act does not specifically prohibit bible reading. It gives the committee liberty to allow the use of the schools for other purposes than secular education. It is therefore quite competent for them to allow the schoolrooms to be used for any purpose. And I understand that by the time the committee meet this month they will have a considerable number of applications for permission to use the schoolrooms. It is rumoured that the whole of the various sects from the Church ot" Home to the Salvation Army will send in applications; that two brass bands will endeavour to save rent by gaining admission on their practice evenings; that the Caledonian Society now forming intend to import a gross of bagpipes, so as to instruct the rising generation in the hideous row which does duty for music in the Highlands ; and last, not least, the Freethought Association talk of putting in an application for room to spread their gospel. They claim to have a big following Jo the Freethinkers. I happen to know a few of them, and they are a very liberal lot taken as a whole, more particularly in the way they disseminate their literature. Of its literary qualities I will not refer to it further than to say it is broad—very broad —in its views. One friend of mine had his mind so far unhinged by taking too bit? a dose of it, that he straightway committed a libel, and only got clear ot an action b}' the intervention of a couple of friends, who knew the cause, and explained the matter away to the indignant injured one. But there is a sad want of unanimiiy a nong these Agnostics. No two of tiiem hold the same opinion?. Talk of schism in the Church of England, or any other sect. Why, Romanism and the Vlymout'i Brotherhood are not farther apart than these advanced thinkers, who only agree upon the one radical principle of pulling down everything that's up, without endeavouring to replace it by anything half as good. However, when all these applications go before the next school committee there will be ample room for discussion.

The Champion Company.

The great meeting of the 29tii was a miserable failure. The capitalists who were supposed to be eager to invest had either changed their minds or forgotten to send in applications for preferential shares, and the thing went off veiy flat. There seems to be a very poor prospect at present before them of keeping out of liquidation. Those present subscribed JCL'2S to smelt what ore there is at the machine site in the hope that if that is successful that more confidence will be felt in the venture by the capitalists who are holding back.

The Borough Elections. The nominations of the Borough Councillors are to be made on Monday. There is not much talk about it yet; and nothing definite is settled who is to be nominated ; but there will be a fair proportion of new blood, and iu my next I will bo able to give you some idea of the candidates and their performances, and chances in the event.

The Buller Road.

Auother work is to be started on the road between Nelson and the Coast this week. The contractor for the MotuekaMotupiko bridge commences operations at once. There has been a slight passage-at-arms, in the Sloj) Bucket, between the contractor aud an unsuccessful tenderer, calling himself " Colonial." The latter is notorious for rushing into print 011 every conceivable subject, but is especially great when he has a fancied grievance to ventilate. " Colonial " once held a Government appointmeut as an engineer, and his talents were not appreciated as ho considered they should have been by the Public Works department, and he found to his astonishment on a fine morning that the Government were insane enough to think they could run the "Colony without his assistance. Ever since he has been aggressive; and anyone who will listen to him is buttonholed aud his ears dinned with the incompetency ot the P.W.D. and the virtues and genius of "Colonial." Sometimes in his lucubrations iu print he catches a Tartar; and 011 this occasion he caught two, for Mr Mace came to Mr Thomas assistance and between the two ot them " Colonial" got a very salutary gruelling.

Korari.