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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 181, 2 August 1871, Page 4

Hampden, £58 4s : Vanguard, £15 35.; St. Vincent, £138 195.; Nile, £82 35.; Tasman, £4 18s.; Milton, Grove, Cambria, £60 135.; Washington Valley, £329 75.; Kawai-5t.,£59 11s.; Russell, £198 ss. 103.; Topia, £14 10s.; Manuka, £22 10s.; Franklyn,£l Bs.; Van Dieman,£4 2s. 6d.; Alton/ £29 11s. 6a.; Morrison, £14 75.; Shelbourne, £5 195.; Shakespeare's Walk, Mr. A. Adams subscribing one-half, £8 Bs.; Scotland-street, £7; Harper, £2 25.; Totara, £6 135.; Seiwyn Place, £3 10s.; Watering of Streets, £74 135.; Lighting of lamps, £111; Attendance to town clock, £8. ■ " The sum of £260 has been placed as a fixed deposit, in the Bank of New Zealand, to the credit of the Board, for the purpose of meeting debentures when due, for Bridge-street sewer. "The Board takes this opportunity of expressing its opinions, that the interests of the ratepayers of the City of Nelaon, would be consulted by the submission to the Board of any bill, for providing gasworks, and extending waterworks for the city, prior to its being introduced into the General Assembly. " The Board has also caused a letter to be written to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to obtain the opinion of the Attorney- G-eneral, as to whether a Municipal Corporation Act could be especially obtained for the city, aa is the case with the cities of Dunedin and Christchurch. The present Municipal Corporations Act, this Board is of opinion would be too cumbrous for this city. " This Board regrets that the vote of the Provincial Couucil at the last session is £200 less than the vote of former years for the maintenance of the Waimea and Haven roads, although no reduction was made in the vote for the Waimea Eoad Board, which not only derives the same amount of revenue as previously obtained, but is still allowed by law to receive the tolls accruing from the toll gate, when it is known that the existing toll gate and house stands on the boundary of the city, and which toll this Board thinks ought of be done away with allojjetaer, or the tolls be equitably divided between the Waimea Road Board, and the Nelson Board of Works. " The Board regrets that prison labor has not been available to the extent that the Board was led to expect during the past year. " The Board also regrets that one of the items of revenue has been reduced to some extent, by an Act of last session of the Provincial Council reducing the Dog Tax one half. " The amount levied for rates for the last year was £1880 65., at three farthings in the pound, for tbe year on a gross assessment of £601,696. " A special rate of three farthings in the pound levied upon certain properties contiguous to Bridge-street will continue for two years longer. " The following is a comparative statement of the assessment of the City of Nelson for the year 1869-70 and 1870-71, showing the reductions and additions made in each block : —

" The rate levied last year at fd. in the pound, amounted to £1,880 6s. " Five members of the Board have to be elected in the place of J. Webb, D. Burns, J. R. Dodeon, W. Haddow, and J. P. Black. " The accounts for the past year, with all the vouchers relating thereto, will be submitted to the auditors, to be appointed by this meeting of ratepayers. " Thomas Younger, " Surveyor to the Board. " Board of Works Office, "July 31, 1871."

The Scientific American describes the new wood carpeting which is now comiDg into extensive use in America, as follows: —The fabric is made of slats or more ornamental shapes, glued or cemented upon a cloth backing. * The slats or strips of wood are of different colors, and are i arranged to produce all the effects of tesselated floors, mosaic work, &c, and being J inch in thickness, they will wear many years. They are finished in oil, and fit together so tightly that the joints are as perfect as those in .inlaid work. The surface thus produced can therefore " be scrubbed, washed, and oiled when needed, precisely like other floors made of ornamental woods, which floors they resemble in all respects when laid. :

- A EA.TSER dangerous experiment was indulged in on the 6th inst. by a servant girl at Maryborough. She appears to have been filling a lamp with kerosine, and having put in too much of it, to have swallowed a draught of the liquid out of the globe by Way of reducing the quantity. The dose was about two of three table spoonfuls. Medical advice was at once sought, ami correctives in the shape of olive oil and boiled milk administered. She was subsequently taken to the hospital in a very uneasy state, bur, fortunately, states the Melbourne Leader, no serious results are anticipated. The Couky Insolvent, says the writer of "Perrybingle Papers," is a quite colonial sort of party. You can't sink him because of his corkiness; but of all cool touches in his 'line, a note that a friend of mine got couldn't be beat. Here it is : — " Sik — Before I file my schedule I propose to pay all my creditors 7s 61 in the pound. I might rise enough money to satisfy all. If Igo through the Court there will not be sixpence in the pound. — Yours, . Let me know before Wednesday." Observe the artfulness of this gentle youth. He could pay 7s 6d in the pound; but "if I go through the Court there will not be sixpence in the pound." If the new insolvency law makes it cost 7s to earn 6.1, its inventors ought to be proud of it. Sericulture in Victoria. — The cultivation of silk, says the Post, has lately occupied much attention in Victoria, and during the course of last session of the New Zealand Parliament the attentiou of our legislatures and of the public was drawn to this new industry. Information was collected, and the experiences of Mr. Batchelor, of Nelson, and others, embodied iu Parliamentary papers, with a view to action being taken in the matter. But from late Melbourne papers we learn that the efforts of the Victorian sericulturists have been all in vain ; they have cultivated the wrong worms, ami have produced a kind of silk useless for commercial purposes. They, have produced silk in quantity, but it ia not an article . which silk-merchants will buy of them, aud can only be used for stuffing chairs and sofas, being even for that purpose inferior to the ordinary horsehair. In short, as the Argus says, " they have been drawing water out of empty wells with bottomless buckets." Should there be any serious intention on the part of our Legislature to encourage sericulture in this Colony, it will be well to bear this Victorian failure in mind, and under scientific guidance select only those worms which science has pointed out as capable of producing the best silk.

1869-70. 1870-71. Block A ...£273,827 ...£271,179 , B ... 59,362 ... 62,971 , C ... 103,817 ... 97,226 „ D ... 46,535 ... 46,818 „ E ... 15,446 ... 15,676 „ F ... 31,973 ... 32,203 „ G ... 73,808 ... 75,623 £604,768 ... £601,696 601,696 Reduction ... £3,072