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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 151, 29 August 1866, Page 2

We have been informed by the honorary secretary to' "the Nelson Acclimatization Society, that Sir George Grey has kindly forwarded to him two couple of black quails, and some seeds of the chinehona tree. A special meeting of the Nelson Board of Works was held yesterday. There were present Mr. Burn, in the chair, Messrs. Rout, Carter, "Wright, Aitken, Bentley, aud Burns. The following tenders were opened for work to he done at 'the junction of Nile and I Tasman-streets : — R. K. Turner and Son, £445 ; Murfrn aud Co., £397 165., and Is. i per yard ; Duulop and Changelow, £460, and Is. 3d. per yard. The tender of Murfin was accepted. The quarterly meeting of the Nelson Artisans' Mutual Improvement Association will take place this evening, at Campbell's schoolroom. It is expected that the meeting will be an unusually interesting one. Several essays will be read by the members present, and the proceedings will be varied by discussion and vocal music. We quote the G. R. Argus for the following : — We are glad to learn on excellent authority that the negotiations entered into by the Nelson Government with Australian capitalists for the construction of a line of railway from Nelson to the Grey are progressing favorably, and that only a question of minor importance remains to be settled in order to bring the matter to a satisfactory issue. We understand that a number of Victorian capitalists, including Mr. Hugh Glass, have expressed their willingness to construct the railway on the conditions offered by the. Nelson Government, viz., a grant of a certain quantity of land for each mile of line constructed. The only difficulty in the way at present is this — the Governi meut wishes to have the land granted to the contractors to.be selected by the Government Surveyors, whilst the parties in Victoria desire to have the land chosen by their own officer. The: difference, is however., so small ; compared with „ the enormous advantages ; which the proposed line would confer on the ; province, that it ought hot : to be' allowed to ; interfere with the acceptance of the offers ; made by those willing to f]nd the capital for

sq large an > undertaking. ; We believe ' that this 1 opinion is -shared by a majority of the Provincial Council, who are naturally anxious to see such- animportant work as the proposed railway carried on t. - -jiL We learn from the General. Government 'Gazette of the loth inst." that ' during the quarter ended the 30th June. the:. export of gold from the ports of Greymouth and Hokitika amqun ted in the aggregate to 134,013 ozs., value £519,610. Prom the port of Hokitika the export was 83,400 ozs., and from Greymouth 50,613 ozs., of which 30,130 ozs. were the produce of the Province, of Nelson. The export of gold from Dunedin during the same period was 45,008 ounces, value £174,406. The export from Greymouth thus exceeds that of the whole of Otago >by - 5,605 ozs. Although the General Assembly has; not done much, it has been fertile in suggestions. Mr Carleton,, the member for' the Bay of Islands, has suggested that we should take a lesson from Jamaica, and make every elector _ pay ten shillings for his right to vote. The Colonial Treasurer said this , proposal would receive the consideration of the Government; and the Premier said he was quite willing to forego the addition which such a tax would bring to the revenue; although, as there are about 17.000 electors in. the colony, that addition would aniouut to £8500 yearly. It has been tolerably well known during the past fortnight or three weeks that a company was being formed for the purpose of constructing a tramway from Greymouth to the, Saltwater, and that a considerable portion of the capital had been already subscribed. "We are glad to learn that all difficulties in the way of carrying out the undertaking have, been remove-, and that the work will very soon be commenced. We (Argus) are glad to find that, the banks have arrived at a sufficient estimate of the commercial importance of Greymouth to warrant them in converting their agencies here into branches. The initiative has been taken by the Bank of New Zealand, which has already made its office a Branch Bank, I under the management of Mr. Kissling, late of Christchurch, and' formerly accountant of the Dunedin branch. We trust the other bauks will not hesitate to at once follow tlie example of the Bank of New Zealand. During the Taranaki war in 1860, a considerable amount of money was collected in Victoria, to assist the sufferers. From some cause or other the amount collected has not. been distributed, and has passed into the hand of Frederick Wilkinson, Esq., master i in equity of the Supreme Court of Victoria, [ who has advertised that the claims of parties seeking aid from the Victorian Relief Fund, will be heard before him on Friday, the 19th day of October, 1866. It is said that the captive Hau Haus seem quite contented with their fate, and obey orders with cheerful alacrity; indeed removal from the vortex of war to the sequestered and peaceful quietude of the Chatham Islands has evidently calmed down the passions of those excitable people. Nevertheless experience has made our defenders wise, and they determine never to relax in their duties, but prudently "keep good watch and ward." The Evening Star censures the Otago members rather harshly. It says :— From the letter of our Wellington correspondent it will be seen that, as usual, the Otago members are divided, and as a matter of course ; their influence may now be said to be nil. For Mr. Disk's amendment on the separation question eight voted for and seven against. After this, all chance of unity upon important questions may be said to be at an end. Poor Otago ! The Dunedin correspondent of the Tuapeka Recorder says : — Business- in Dunedin j seems, if possible, to become the longer, the i worse. For the past two Saturday evenings, I have taken a stroll from .the Waiter of Leith Bridge tb the South end of Princessstreet, especially to observe- the trade that was being done, and truly the prospect was one of melancholy; ahfl. if. so to an indifferent observer," .what must it.be : to. the of large drapery and -other retail establishments, having, high rents to pay," arid employing numerous hands, only to look at each

other at a time when they ought to be busiest ? It puzzles me to understand bow two-thirds of the business community of Dunedin manage to eke out an existence at all. The Nevis correspondent of the Dunsfan Times states : — A severe shock of earthquake was felt here on the night of Friday the 20th ult., between 10 and 11 o'clock, which was unpleasantly suggestive of the fate of Corau Dathan and Abiram of unhappy memory. Some of the people of Upper Nevis felt a sensation similar to sea-sickness immediately after the shock, but whether the same was caused by fear or otherwise 1 will leave to the savants to determine ; suffice it to say, that the few hairs still left on the upper story of your correspondent felt a decided iucliuatioa to stand on end during the awful phenomenon. A rather curious case is reported at length in the Tuapeka Press, vizi, that of: — Keen v. Halley— Claim =|18 on dishonored bill. It was pleaded that the drawer of the bill, George Weiss, had since Dr. Halley accepted it, converted 'eight' into 'eighteen,' thereby attempting to defraud. Mr. Keen stated that the bill had simply been placed in his hands by the endorsee, Edward De Carle, and he submitted that if the alleged fraud had been committed by Weiss, the matter lay between Dr. Halley and Weiss, and that the doctor was liable to the endorsee to the full amount His worship ruled that iv such a case he must have a direct evidence of 'consideration.' and Mr. De Carle would have to be prepared to prove this. Mr. Keen then consented to a non-suit, costs to abide the issue. Immediately afterwards a warrant. against Weiss for forgery, was granted, Dr. Halley laying the information. The Wanganui Times has the following remarks ou self imposed taxation :- — Outreaders will see from a tabulated statement of the revenue for the quarter ending 30th June last, that the total amount is £207,886, and. that we import tobacco, spirits, wine, and beer, to the estimated value of £1,674,564 per aunnm, a sumi considerably over £20 per head for every European, man, woman, and child in the colony. Of course the native population consume a fair share of those articles, but the question is, what do they cost the colony ? Add to the estimated value the actual retail price paid by the consumers ; and add to that the expense incurred by the suppression and punishment of crime arising out of the use of intoxicating liquors, aud the total amount of this self-imposed taxation will be something frightful to contemplate. The consumption of ardent spirits at home has been estimated at — for England two gallons per head per annum ; for Scotlaud two and a-half gallous, and for Irelaud two aud a-quarter gallons ; but the consumption in this colony, exclusive of the produce of illicit distillation, is over six gallons a head, including the one half of the native population. The W. C. Times complains that the arrangement. still subsisting, by which the letters aud newspapers for the West Coast are sent to it by the circuitous route of the Bluff, Dunedin, Lyttelton, Welliugton, and Nelson — that is, the entire navigation of the Southern, Eastern, and Northern coasts of the Middle Island in order to reach a port on the West Coast that is. nearer to Melbourne than any other point in New Zealand — prevented the delivery in Hokitika of newspapers mailed in Euland until the 28th ult., 16 days after the departure of the steamer from Melbourne. The time occupied in steaming direct from that port to Hokitika is, on an average, five and a half days. We may add that the mail letters were despatched by the, overland coach from Christchurch, and were delivered on the 26th ult. Mr. Fitzherbert. once : said that the number of of officials in New Zealand equalled a •regiment at its full strength. He spoke within the mark, because official returns prove that we pay under appropriations of the General Assembly 1602 individuals in salaries -:a_d fees £193,404. Moreover, we do not pay -them very well, because while chief;, clerks 'get, .an average salary of £281 Bs, and .other' clerks '. average, salary 4of £ 1,75, yet >the .rates, paid,, by , ban^s , and . mercantile to, persons,, in- correspphuing positions are considerably higher. We have

too many ill-paid men, and there is no doubt ' that a smaller number at better, salaries would do the work better, because good, pay would secure good men: Mr. Alfred Sheath, . telegraphic .engineer, makes the following suggestions in his recent Teport : — The union of the West Coast of the Middle Island with the exislinglihes , on the East Coast, is a matter of so great im r portance that I should, be .inclined not only to recommend the Government to purchase , existing West Coast line from the Canterbury Province, but also to adopt measures to secure an uninterrupted communication by erecting a new line from Nelson along the West Coast. The present West Coast line is very liable to. interruptions .during the winter months, owing to the heavy snows ; and the rivers have proved themselves frequent source- of interruption during the sea- i son of freshes. A. great amount of business is transacted on the West Coast line, and the lines of the General Government derive much of their support from this source. The Herald states that the Wangarei coal mines are being more thoroughly developed every week. We .may soon expect to see any quantity of Wangarei coal introduced into Auckland, and procurable at the Wharf at a price which will cause it to be used in preference to all imported coal. The Tasmanian Maid on her last trip to Wangarei went up to the shoot aud took in her coal in the course of a few minutes. The Aucklaud Herald states .that the Rev. Mr. Edger — so well known amongst us for many high personal qualities, and a theology as comprehensive as it is deep-seated in a miud remarkable for analytical power — has suffered severe loss by fire. Books, MSS., personal effects, have been all destroyed. We rejoice to see that; Christian ministers of every denomination have gathered round Mr. 'Edger,- 'tendering a truly Christian sympathy to a brother clergyman. Captain Sharp is of opinion that a light should be placed at the southern entrance to Queen Charlotte's Sound (Tory Channel), through which a great many steamers pass. His report states that it has been suggested that the Panama boats might have their passage expedited by lights - being placed at Capes Egmont and Palliser; those two points forming the north-east and north-west extremities of Cook's Straits. The light dues for the past year have been sufficient to defray all the expenses of the department, aud to : provide a small rate of interest on outlay. ! The steam vessels now trading on the seaboard and rivers of New Zealand number 57, of which 37 have low-pressure, and 20 highpressure engines, the former requiring to be surveyed at an interval of six months, and the latter every third month. There are now five light-houses on the coast of New Zealand. The first, at Tiritirimatauga, guards the entrance to the Hauraki Gulf, and enables the shipmaster to steer right to this port in the darkest night ; the second is ou the Island of Mana, in Cook's Straits ; the third, on Godley's Head ; the fourth, on Tairoa Head, enables vessels more easily and safely to make the Harbor of Dunedin. All these light-houses were undertaken and completed by the board in a period of about fourteen months. Captain Sharp, President of the Marine Board, states that the advantages of these light-houses have been fully acknowledged by shipmasters, aud that not a single casualty has occurred to shipping within the limit of their range during the past year. Since the lights were first established no accident has occurred to prevent their being exhibited on any occasiou. According to the Herald the Auckland people have had a burglary of a most unusual kiud. Most, people have read the opening of Dr. Young's " Night Thoughts"-^, The clock strikes one ! We take no note of time but' by its loss. As if to illustrate this famous passage, behold a thief, gets into the. Supreme Court and steals— hot his Honor's wig, but, the clock. Frightful profanity. And yet the: thief didnot steal any wearing appearel, of f which plenty was hanging about. Possibly the iudignation of. legal horsehair; caused it to stand dn.'end, and .so.;\yarned p^f. the intruder.