The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 5, 1871

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 80, 5 April 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 5, 1871

Nelson Races. — The Phoebe which arrived from the Soufh last evening brought the Otago horses Yatterina, and Slander to take part in our races. Nelson Artizans. — A. meeting of the members of this association will be held to-night for the election of officers aud the transaction of other business. A full attendance is requested. ,S Harmonic Society. — A general meeting of members will take place at the Harmonic Society's Rooms, to-morrow evening. We understand that the Society's Quarterly Concert will bs given on Thursday in Easter week. A Fine Trout. — Mr. W. H. West informs us that he saw at the Thistle Inn, Bridge-street, <o-day, a trout that had been picked up by Mr. Hogjr, on the Maitai Bank, and which measured 20£ inches .in length, 11|- inches round, and weighed < &\ pounds. The Superintendent.— His Houor the Superintendent was a passenger to Wellington by the Taranaki this morning, the object of his visit being to confer with the General Government on the subject of the proposed loans for the railway to the Brunner mine, the gasworks, and the extension of the Waterworks. He also hopes to ascertain their views with regard to the Nelson and Cobden Ruilway. Wangapeka. — A correspondent of the Grey River Argus furnishes the following from Wangapeka, under date March 19 : — I have delayed writing for a week or more that I mi^ht be able to report the starting of Culliford's battery ; it, however, has not commenced operations yet, although I believe everything is ready for work. The dam and flume are finished, and give a very plentiful supply of wa'.er, one too that will not be materially affected by any amount of dry weather, as the creek a few yards above the,. dam issues from a cave in the mountain, to the end of which uo person has ever penetrated. The water is extremely cold, and it is greatly feared by experienced persons that its low temperature will interfere seriously with the work of amalgamation. The tramroad and all connected with it is finished, and works well and easily. The trucks are filled from a hopper erected at the upper end of the tramroad, the trucks stop underneath it, and the quartz ia then let out of the hopper by means of two sliding doors, to each of which is attached a powerful lever' allowing them to be opened or shut at pleasure. This is a great improvement on the old plan of filliug trucks with a shovel. There is a rumor that this company will not start crushing until the shareholders have all paid up their calls; if this is true, we all sincerely wish up here they would be smart about it. Fnwcett's battery changed hands last week under a distress warrant, Mr. Crewdsor, late of Charleston, becoming the purchaser for the low sura of £40. It would, I think, have fetched more, but it will have to be shifted, as it is of no use to any of the claims where it is at present, and before it is shifted it must be taken to pieces, water-wheel and all. It would, moreover, be only suitable for a very small party of men, having only two stampers. No. 1 South have finished their shoot, which works very well, also their upper tramroad. They are now engaged on the lower line of terminus to the Waimea machine site. About three ons of the Waimea Company's battery

has arrived at tlw j ir machine site ; the I '-emaiii der is on tho way up. The coni ractor ia rai her puzzled how to get the s'umper boxes up. They weigh about 30cwt. each, and do not take to pieces. D< n-an's No. 1 Compauy are still engaged making ready a site for their machine. This machine has been made to order by Moutray, of Ntdson, and is, I am told, n very creditable specimen of local industry. A Government House Dispute. — A new use lias been found for the demilitarised, aud a guard is now regularly stai toned at the gate-house of the Government domain. A good deal of curiosity has heeii expressed as to tho reason for this, and curreut rumor has it that, although Government House has been fompleied by the contractor, it has not been paid for by the Government, a decided difference existing between the parties as to the actual amount due. The Government siicks to the contract, but the contractors say that the contract is nothing, as the- Government has departed from it in a variety of ways. So a very pretty little dispute is pending, and, as the contractors won't give up possession of the building till it is paid for, the Government has placed a demilitarised guard at the gate to prevent Mr. Martin taking the house for the damage, and removing it bodily some night, as a decisive way of bringing matters to a conclusion.— Post. There are already four candidates in the field for the Superintendentcy of Wellington, namely, Mr. Fiizherbert, Mr. Fiunimore, Mr. Joseph Masters, and Mr. ' H. Anderson. The execution of the murderer Cedeuo at Canterbury has been appointed to take place to-day. Scarlet fever is now raging io almost all the country districts of Otago, aud has made its appearance in Dunedin. The deaths are numerous, and considerable alarm prevails. The Wellington Post says that the new Bishop of Dunedin is to be consecrated on Ascension Day, 18th May, when it is expected that the Primate and the Bishops of Wellington, Nelson, aod Auckland, will assist in the ceremony. Fii^e at Napier. — a telegram in the Examiner this morning states that a fire occurred on Sunday night which destroyed Mr. Hallett's honvstead near Napier. A man named Daniel Welch was burned to death, and the other inmates narrowly j escaped. An Otago paper states that the policy j of insurance made out on a certain recently insured Lunatic Asylum described the i building as of wood and iron, "and at present occupied by the Provincial | Government. Very serious complaints says the Grey River Argus continue to be made a3 to the manner iv which the coal is supplied to the barges at the Banner Mine. The quaniity of slack which is put into the boais is quite out of all proportiou to the saleable coal, and as the steamers, as well as the townspeople, object to pay for such stuff, a serious loss is entailed upon the owners of the barges. As a case ia point we may mention that a cargo of twelve tons was brought down last evening, four tons of which were found to be unsaleable dust aud dirt. Something must be wrong with the screens, or else they are not properly used. Thk Fiji correspoudenfc of the Southern Cross reports au attempted shooting case which occurred at Levuka on the 16th ult. An American military gentleman attempted to shoot another gentleman whom he alleged to have been unworthily endeavoring to supplant him in the affections of a pretty bar-maid in one of the Hotels. The revolver luckily missed fire, and the intended victim beat a hasty retreat. The "gentleman" with the revolver was warned by the residents of the place that "if the. had shot or should shoot his supposed rival, severe and BummarjTjustice in the matter would very likely be executed by the people, who would not pecmiCwich, outrages to disgrace the township. The Coming Session.— The Welling- ' ton Post sketches out a rather lively programme for the New Zealand Parliament iv it's next session, but which, however amusing it may bo to read, we should he

sorry to see carried out in all its details. Having alluded to the present state ol colonial finance, our yophetic contemporary goes on to say : — Mr. Yogel is not likely to be back by the time the House meets, and the Government will therefore appear like a flock £ sheep which have lost its bell-wether. Mr. Bell will be put in the Speaker's chair, and Messrs. Gisborne, Fox, and M'Lean will be left to their own devices on the Ministerial heuches. Very few, even of the most ambitious of the new members, will envy these Ministers their position. They will, if we mistake not, resemble prisoners standing in the dock rather than representatives of the Government. A crushing indictment will be preferred against them ; charge after charge, supported by incontrovertible evidence, will be urged, and if they have not the grace to plead guilty, they will most certainly be convicted and sentenced to summary expulsion from the offices they have too long held. As far as we can read the signs of the times the days of the present Ministry are numbered — they will, early in the ensuing session have to retire from a position for which they were never fit, and which they have grossly abused." The members of the existing Government being thus disposed of, the writer of this rather spicy article proceeds to look about him for a new Ministry to take their places, but here his ingenuity fails him, and he predicts a Parliamentary chaos that would scarcely be creditable, and certainly unprofitable, to the colony. We must let him use his own words to give expression to his somewhat startling ideas. "Looking over the roll of the new House," he says, " and beariug in mind the election speeches of the various members, it must strike everyone as an almost impossible task to find any Ministry which could long agree amongst themselves, or command the support of a majority of the House. It seems almost impossible that a Government could be formed which would command the support of both North and South. Otago will certainly not be satisfied with any Government which will render common justice to the North. The North would not be satisfied with an Otago Government. Tn fact, each province, Nelson perhaps excepted, has its own little game to work, and although all may, and probably will, unite to turn out the present Government that done, they will begin to quarrel amongst themselves. The coming session' is sure to witness many extraordinary combinations resulting from lobby intrigues and log-rolling, and we should not be surprised to see two or three changes of Government during it. Nor would it surprise us if the session should end in complete disorder, in every man's hand being raised against everyone else. In such a case, a fresh appeal to the country would be the only possible solution of the difficulty." Considering that the unsatisfactory state of affairs to which our contemporary looks forward is to arise in a House, the members of which have only just been elected, we fail to see very clearly that a fresh appeal to the country is likely to prove an unfailing remedy for the evils that, if they should exist, will have sprung out of the elections that have only very recently taken place. We are not among those who sneer at homoeopathy, at the same time we are not disposed to allow that Hanhemann's motto Similia similibus curantur is applicable to every complaint or to every stage of a disease.