The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1869. LOCAL NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 79, 6 April 1869, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1869. LOCAL NEWS.

Airedale. — This vessel was coming in as we went to press. Ball Committee. — We have been requested to remind the members of (his Committee that a meeting will he held tonight, when a full atteudauce of members is requested. Prolific Cow. — Mr John Flowers, farmer Upper Mutuek** Valley, possesses a cow of the common slmrt-horu breed, which, ou the 30th of March, calve«i three fine heifi-r calves. The dam with her progeny are thriving admirably. City Volunteers — The City Art illery and No. 1 Kifles are to meet (or drill in the Botanical Gardens to- raorro w afternoon, when, wh are in. .'me I, a programme of tbe pan to he taken by the Volunteers in the reception of the Prince will be decided upou. The Superintendent, in accep f ing Mr Dutton's res cruation as Warden, wrote : — "I have recommended the acceptance of yonr resignation with much reluctance, and have, on behalf of tiie Provincial Government, to thank you for the able and zealous manner in which you have, from the date of your acceptance of them, fulfilled the duties of those offices, and to congratulate you on the success which h-*s attended your exertions." — Westport Times. Speaktng of the Rill to he introduced by the Nelsou Executive for the reduction of the number of members iv lhe Provincial Council, the Grey River Argus remarks : — " The proposed Bill includes the whole Valley of the Grey in one electoral I district, and will permit of its being represented by local men, which it never has been hitherto. It would be premature to discuss the question further until it is brought before the Council ; but, so far as appears on the face of it we think the scheme a very equitable one, and one whicii will be very generally approved of outside of the city of Nelson." Artillery Practice. — We have to apologise to our readers for a mis-state-ment which appeared in our columns yesterday when we said that those who went to see the gun practice would have au opportunity of witnessing the splintering effects of a shell striking the hull of a wooden ship. The target did not prove so attractive as we had anticipated, and it was generally allowed by those who were present that it was not uearly large enough. Had it been 100 feet longer, the execution done would have been terrific, but as it was, the hulk keeper, if he had been on board, though no doubt he would have been much alarmed by the storm of lead which was hurtling and hissing round him would have been iv a posiiion of safety. | As there has been a considerable difference of opinion expressed with regard to the distance between the positiou of the gun and the hulk, we may state that it has to-day been measured, and found to be 1,735 yards. Thatcher's Entertainment. — Mr. and Mrs Thatcher gave one of their amusing performances last night to a crowded house. Mr Thatcher's delineation of life on tho Gohlfields illustrated by panoramic pictures, and every now and then varied by hits at some of our local celebrities caused- immense amusement among the audience. Two or three racy local songs filled up the intervals, the " Insolvency Court" and the " Fancy Bazaar,'' especially, elicited shouts of laughter aud applause, and the entertainment concluded with a Burlesque Duct entitled "The Prince's visit to Nelsou," in which Mr and Mrs Thatcher contrived

I to hit off a great mauy of our little I weaknesses. There is to be another performance to-night, when an entirely new local soug will be sung by Mr Thatcher. Tkiumphal Ahch Maidens. — We have been been requested lo stale that the sweet little cherubs that are to be perched up aloi't exposed to the gaze of I-J.H.H. are not to be dressed in bullet dancers costume, aud that it will not be absolutely necessary for them to poise themselves, gooselike, on oue leg, but that thpy will be perfectly at liberty to use both iheir feet. No doubt this intelligence wili prove highly satisfactory to such of our young ladies as are contemplating making exhibitions of themselves, and may possibly remove any conscientious scruples with which they might huve been troubled. A correspondent writing on this subject suggests that, instead of the horses running away with fright on coming witliin view of the cherubim and seraphim, tht-y might conduct themselves iv the same manner as di«l a certain iocg-eared aniI mul of whom we have all read, when he saw au angel with a drawn sword stand- | iug in his path, namely, stand stil! and pO-itivtly refuse to stir. Unfortunately, the age of mil aides being past, we could not expect the gieys to remousirate with their driver, as did the other animal to which we have alluded, otherwise it would be highly entertaining, not to say insiructivc, te bear a "horse's thoughts on while robed virgin.-." [Since the above was in type we have learnt with much pleasure, from a letter addressed to us by Mr Levestarn, that the absurd idea of ciowuing tlie arch with the youth and beauty of JSelsuU hub wisely been abandoned.] Has He Arkived ? — We have not kept accurate account, but we should say on a rough guess that the question — Has the Prince arrived iv Wellington ? has beeu put to us to-day by at least 1, .00 person*, exclusive of women and children. Sorrow iully we have bevu compelled to answer iv the negative, and it has pained us to the quick to observe the woe depicted on tiie countenances of many of our enquirers, as, on receiving our reply, they gave practical illustration of the truth of the assertion — ' ; Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." Yesterday it was blowing a gale of wind here. Did the storm ica<-h the Galatea? was it a favorable or an adverse wind ? Is the ship seaworthy, and is she quite out of the reach of any of the nasty rocks ou which our noble Prince might come to grief? Aii these qu* stious, and a thousand more, suggest themselves to those who are so eagerly looking forward to uext week's gaieties, aud to whom, a disappoint meat on this score would prove nothing short of nine days'' misery, and niue nights' restless tossing to and fro on their beds, as they thought of how near they were to looking upon the divine countenance of a ' Prince of the blood, aud h >w the delightful vision had eluded them just as they were ou the point of realising it to its fullest extent. — But we are not so despondent on this subject, we fully expect to be able to iuform our readers tomorrow that we have received telegrams stating that H.R.H h .s arrived in Wellington, and they may depend upon it that when tlie glorious news does reach us it shall be printed in g'*od huve type, there shall be nothing dubious about it, but each and every one of the expectants shall be able to really satisfy themselves that they are, at all events, within 100 miles of a member of the Royal Family.