The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1865.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 1, 5 March 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1865.

We refer to our advertising columns for our prospectus; we shall consistently endeavor to carry out the objects therein stated, and will advocate such measures as are con--ducive to the permanent interests of Nelson] We desire expressly to state that this journal has not been started in opposition to those at present existing ; nor at the desire of any particular sect or party ; but mainlj to supply an evident requirement of the whol< community. I j We think that this city has arrived at such i stage of prosperity and importance, that onlj a daily paper can pijqpevly express its varied requirements. Beitg almost the oldest, and one of the wealthiest of the New Zealand cities, the ceo ire of Ihe extensive system of steam communicatiai which radiates to all; the other p.rts of thpse Islands, so soon to bej in direct communication with America by 1 the Panama Route, (Nelson is only on thej verge of still greater prosperity; surely it ; will now support a daily paper. The annals of colonization contain no recordj more remarkable thaii the progress of events! on [the West Coast pf this Island. Fifteenmonths ago, the whole of the country between, the great range and Lhe sea, from Cape Foul-! wind to Cape Providence, a distance of nearly j 500 miles, was as urknowu as the interior of I Africa ; it was represented by those few who ! had landed upon its shores to be a barren in- ; hospitable laud, uninhabitable on account of! < the severity of its climate, devoid of all natu- ; j ral wealth and attractions ; now a popula-j; } tion of 25,000 souls lias settled in the desert,'; producing and exporting gold to the value of' above £200,000 every month. Flourishing i commercial communities are settled at the en-J trances of several of the rivers. Breweries ' and various manufactories have been estab- j, lished there, aud a steam fleet employed supplying the requirements of the inhabitants exceeding that which but a few years since traded from the port of Sydney. .«.;;- \, , Marvellous, however, as has been the pro- ; cress of Westland — the recent intelligence .i from that quarter justify us in belie^gitfiaf; its future progress will be as ffreat asitl&asl»e'<eii hitherto, and that its resources wifl|De|a^ en/; : i : during as they are great. FToWs"Bo\im^p^ ' :J|)ikai;ita to 20 miles north of the i ||||i§>'id has been discovered on tla&^^io^&^;J \ ' |||||||pg the whole distance, a jciMjCmf |ffi|^ ' '; M irafgi Up various of the r i yers SP^m^^^^' tend to * W oy^"'W§^^§^^ Gn^

beach contains iron, indicating its existence in greater quantities inland, and there can be no doubt but that a scientific examination of the back country would reveal the existence of various other valuable minerals which are frequently found in connexion with gold. In these days of extensive maritime communication,, no place can be prosperous without others adjacent partaking of its good fortune* although many of the wants of the district ,way De supplied by local exterprise, the bulk of the requirements of Westland must come from elsewhere. The fine sheltered valleys of Kelson will continue to grow the] fruit the digger uses, the plains of Canterbury will produce his cheese, the hillsides of this province and Marlborough will feed his mutton, and our safe harbor will receive many of the ships bringing his foreign importations. In this manner by becoming a market for our productions and a field for the enterprise of our merchants, will the progress of Westland enrich our province and benefit the entire colony.