THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 172, 22 July 1871, Page 2

THE WEEK.

— o— .vv last week has been oue of expectation, inasmuch as ever since Tuesday last no resident in" the town has gone to bed at nipht -without the apprehension that before the morning dawned he would be roused from his slumbers hy the report of thj-j tWO g""g from tha. PQEX-Htlls-.that usually announce Jhg^jir.rival of the EnglTsh" mail. Hitherto, however, night has not been made hideous by such startling sounds, and there still appears to be a f-lorious uncertainty with regard to the time when the arrival of the steamer is to be^ooked for. Some few weeks since a telegram was forwarded to the Postmaster, containing an interesting and most methodical tabular statement of the days on which the San Francisco mails were to arrive in Nelson, but, ere this was a fortnight old, another message was received stating that, instead of the 23rd inst., the day first advertised, we were to expect the mail here on the 19th But the 19th has passsed nnd so have the 20th and the 21st and still the guns are ». silent, and the consequence is that I and a great many others, with a, perhaps culpable, lack ol faith in the omnisicence of the principal postal authorities, begin to thick that they know nothing at all about it, and that nobody has any idea when the steamer is due at Auckland or Nelson or anywhere else. One thing is beyond all doubt, namely, that Mr. Webb will not be at all dilatory in clairaiDg the thousand a week that this wealthy aud prosperous colony has bound itself to pay to him, and that appears to be the only thing certain in the working of our new mail service. .Nevermind." We have been beforehaud with those insignificant little colonies of Victoria and New South Wales, aud it is New Zealand's proud boast that she is paying £50,000 a year for that which she could have ohtained at a quarter of the amount if she could only have so far demeaned herself ns to play second fiddle to the sister colonies of Australia. But no ! if we have very little money, our credit is good, and why should we not take advantage of this to pile up a good big burden to be borne by those who are to follow us ? It will be so gratifying to them to be able to say that their fathers were the first to open up communication with America. A sketch of the events of the week would not be complete without some allusion to the funeral of the late Mr. Manson Sinclair^ which took place on Wednesday last. lam not going to give a report of .the ceremony,, which has already been fully .described^, but,! cer-r. tainly think that a -meed of paise is due to those upon whom rested the responsibility

of making all the necessary arrangements and of seeing them carried into effect. The 'whole thing was managed so well that the stewards, I think they are called, —I am not well up in Masonic terms — who were on this occasion represented by Drs. Scaly and Squires, are entitled to the warmest commendation. With regard to the Volunteers.- I have now and. then had occasion to speak of them in slightly disparaging terms, and for this very reason I feel that, it is all the more due to them that I should take this opportunity of statiug ihe very generally expressed opinion that they went through, their somewhat tedious manoeuvres in a manner that reflected the greatest credit upon them. \The volleys at the grave were fired with" a soldier-like precisiou which proved most clearly that, when they like, the members of our volunteer companies can go through their work in a manner that would not .disgrace more highlytrained men in any part of the world. The band was not perfect, but this was evidently occasioned by their not having practical acquaintance with that particular piece of music which they were called upon to play so often during the day. Would it not be well if they were to devote a little more time to lhe practice of that beautiful march ? 1 trust it may be very v long before they are again called upon\o play it in public, but, in the meantime, nothing would be lost .by practising it more frequently,'' w,hile^ they would thus be preparing themselve^ for any similar emergency that might arise. The Masonic service read at the grave by the Worshipful Master of tbe Nelson Lodge was a very beautiful one, and took many of the uninitiated, among whom I must include myself, by surprise. On the whole, the ceremony, which '--Mas most impressive, was a real credit to tlrose who took part in it, and a graceful tribute to^ the memory of the departed. The Hnrmonic Society's concert on Thursday evening last was a great success. Unfortunately I was a few minutes late, and consequently had to sit for over two hours on one of those detestable seats without backs, that cause strangers, when they visit the Provincial Hall on such occasions, to wonder why the principal public room iv Nelson should be so destitute of anything approaching to comfortable accommodation. I suppose it was very bad taste on my part, but even while some of the best of the singing was going on, I was thinking of the number of meetings and other occasions on which the public assembled there during the year, and I could" --not help entering into, a little calculation, the result of which was that if a sum equteafent to one half-hour's Californian mail subsidy were expended upon attaching backs to the forms in the HaM, it would add greatly to the comfort of those who are in the habit of atteuding public gatherings there. Of course this was a very absurd idea to enter -nljM'head, and showed a lamentable want of musical enthusiasm on my part, but three hours passed on a seat without a support for the back are calculated to knock a good deal of the romance out of a man, and to lead him to turn his attention to matters of an intensely practical nature. Try it, your Honor, aud Mr. Provincial Secretary. I am glad to find that at last our citizens have bestirred themselves in the matter of insurance rates, and that there is some probability of the present exorbitant Acharges being reduced by 25 per cent. Nothing is yet decided with regard to this matter, nor will be until the agents here have had time to commuincate with their principals, but their recommendations will, no doubt, be acted upon. The reduction, which is a considerable one, is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. Fifty per cent, would be nearer the mark. The Agricultural Association, and the Waimea. Farmers' Club are' both of them showing signs of life. The former, I see, has advertised a ploughing match for next Friday, and the latter, finding that agriculturists are unable to get rid of their barley at remunerative prices, proposes to start a Malting Company with a capital of £500 in 100 shares of £5 each. 'This, I should think, will easily be raised in 'our country districts, and our farmers will thus be able for the future to grow barley with, some little certainty of being able to sell it, as a ready market can generally be found for malt either in the tieighboriog provinces, or in the Australian colonies. * What with thunder, lightning, hail, rain, sleet, 'show, and wind, the barometers and thermometers have had all their work , to do during the week in. foretelling andregistering the various changes, 'and tHe.^ meteorologists must have had a lively tiifre ; of it. Asfor atVe'mptingjtopredic^ the weather. -was ; likely to* be- tWiOj-hours ahead, that was out of the question altogether,- 1 and those who ' bbdariied a speculation on the iubject'generßlly foufad r that \|jey knew as much ah<*M it aa, a; ; ne,w- < born- babe^lTCbe incteßßSnt jr&inOhas? iprbJ ducad its effect upon .the roads- which are