The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 7, 8 January 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1872.

In our local journals there have recently been published two letters that are worthy of notice, in (hat they refer to matters having, apparently, au intimate bearing upon the interests of this province. We allude to one by Mr. Bain upon the desirability of opening up communication between Nelson and the Inaugahua district, and another by Sir David Monro on the subject of wooden tramways. The first calls ;»ttention to the want of a road in a particular district, and the advantuges that would accrue from makiug such a road; while the second, without in uoy way alluding to. the district referred to by Mr.

Bain, ard, Apparently, without the writer having it in his mind at all, suggests a remedy which seems peculiarly applicable to the case iu point. We are not among those who are very sanguine with regard to the possibility of securing the Inangahua trade to Nelson, but if this is to be done, it must be by means of a road that, with efficiency, combines, cheapness of construction, and these two highlydesirable qualities seem to exist in the wooden tramway. The letter of Sir D. Monro gives an interesting accouut of the line of rails laid by Mr. Brownlee, in the Kaituna Valley, for the purpose of conveying logs from the forest to his mill, on which a locomotive is now, and has been for nearly twelvemonths, engaged in drawing the trucks. This, however, has been found too heavy for the rimu rails, and Mr. Browulee ha3 consequently sent home for iron ones which are shortly expected to arrive. But although the rails thus tried have proved a failure as a travelling way for a locomotive, this need not discourage us from making use of similar menus for opening up ihe communication between the town aud our inland districts. It may be that there are other woods to he found which would safely bear the weight of ix small locomotive, aud the birch is one to which should be accorded a fair trial before the attempt be given up as hopeless, but even should it prove that none of our New Zealand timber is equal to the strain that would be placed upon it by a steam engine, there is no necessity for us to condemn the wooden tramway as altogether useless, all that is required of us being that we should come down in our ideas and be content to use horse instead of steam power. The latter has been found by Mr. Brownlee to be the cheaper and, as may be easily imagined, the more effective of the two, but if it necessitates the substitution of iron for wooden rails, the diminution of ihe cost of haulage will find a set-off in the increased expense of constructing the Hue. With regard to efficiency there con, of course, be no comparison between the two motive powers, but if horse traction will supply all our immediate wants, and have the result of effecting a considerable saving in the cost of carriage as compared with that which at present prevails, there is no necessity for us to trouble ourselves, just now at least, with the reflection that the iron would be preferable to the animal horse. Setting aside the question of connecting Nelson with the Inangahun, we believe that these tramways may be used with very great advantage iu the Upper Buller and Matakitaki districts, where timber is to be found in abundance, aud no engineering difficulties but such as might be easily overcome are to be met with. Their cost is very small, Mr. Brownlee repotting that the four miles constructed by him did not exceed £320 per mile, but in the absence of auy information as to the character of the country over which it was carried, wo should scarcely be justified in !ookiu<i upon this as a fair estimation of the probable cost of any large number of miles. Still there is reason 1o believe that the expense would not be very much greater thau has been incurred in making some of the roads that are now designated, with a painful amount of truth, mud tracks, while the facilities afforded for carrying heavy goods would necessarily be immeasurably greater than those of which we can at present boast. Such a tramway as that to be seen at Mr. Brownlee's mill, if commenced in the Upper Buller, where the present dray road terminates, would have a most beneficial effect upon that district, and by consequence upon the town of Nelson and its suburbs, aud if it were found practicable to continue it to the loanguhua these benefits would be enhanced to an extent that it is scarcely possible to over estimate. But nothing is easier than to sit down quietly aud suggest certain works that might be undertaken with advantage to this, that, or the other part of the country. No one doubts the desirability of opening up our inland districts in every direction, but there is one practical consideration that will come in the way, and which has frequently resulted in the complete demolition of those castles in the air tbsH we ate all of us so prom; at times to build up with au amount of vigor and rapidity that often astonishes even the sanguine architect who has called them into being. That consideration is, where is the mouey to come from ? Now in this particular instance, this question can, we believe, he met to a limited extent at least. It has been provided that or. of the sum to be set apart for railway works in this province £24,000 shall be expended upon that part of the Nelson South West Goldfields lying to the northward of the northern boundary of the electoral district of the Grey. A certain portion of this sum may fairly bo laid out on the Upper Buller district, aud such expenditure could scarcely take a more useful, serviceable form thau in ' the construction of wooden tramways such as that which has proved so successful in the

Kaituna Valley. Of course they would have to be looked upon as a mere temporary expedient that at some future dale must give way to something more permanent, but in the meantime they would do their work well, and would, it may fairly be anticipated, prove but the forerunners of the iron road that will, before many years have passed over our heads, penetrate these inmost recesses of the province that are now running to waste, but which only require to be rendered available by a cheap and easy method of communication, in order to convert them into well populated districts.

Execution of Kereopa. — Kereopa was hanged at Napier on Friday morning last. He made no statement. Stoke Farmers' Club. — The next monthly meeting of this Club will be held i at the usual place and hour this eveniug. City KiFLES.--The commanding officer's inspection parade, at which members of the reserve are required to attend, is advertised to take place at tbeDrill Shed tomorrow evening at 7 o'clock. At the sitting of the Supreme Court at Wellington last week, Judze Johnston expressed a strong opinion in favor of the usefulness of grand juries. Ship Blue Jacket. — A Lyttelton telegram states that the figurehead mentioned in the Tararua's telegrams as having been found on the coast of South Australia has been recognised as that of the Blue Jacket. Education of Girls. — The movement for establishing a superior school for girls, or, as some would prefer to have it called, a Ladies' College, has been very rapidly maturing during the last fortnight, and is now engaging the serious attention of the College Governors. A number of ladies have undertaken to ascertain the number and ages of pupils who might be reckoned ou as a commencement, as the promoters are anxious to know whether there will be a sufficient number of tolerably advanced girls to render practicable the exclusion of all under ten years of age, as the education of such is already •well provided for iu Nelson. It is also contemplated to throw open some of the classes and lectures to pupils from private schools ou the payment of special fees. Accident. — An accident occurred at the Port on Saturday to a man named Frederick Atkinson, who, while engaged in caulking the ketch Pearl, which is drawn up on the beach for repairs, feil from the upper part of the vessel on to the stones beneath. On being picked up, it was ascertained that he was seriously hurt, and Dr. Cottereil was sent for, who discovered that, in addition fo a number of painful bruises, he had sustained a fracture of the bone of the arm near the elbow joint. Sericulture. —At Mr. Balchelor's house at Wakapu;tka there is just now to be seen a sight that will well repaj r a visitor from town for the trouble of walking thus far. It is of course well known, not only in Nelson but throughout New Zealand, that Mr. Batchelor has devoted years of hard work and patient study to the rearing of silkworms, but there are few who would not be surprised and gratified on visiting his farm to see to what an extent he has carried out his purpose. One room in the house has been entirely set apart for this particular object, and in it there are just now to be seen no less than 40,000 busy little workers, some of them engaged in spinning the silk by the sale of which their proprietor hopes to repay himself for the time, labor, and money he has expended upon breeding and supplying food for them, while others have not yet arrived at the remunerative stage, but are pleasantly employing their time in devouring the mulberry leaves with which they are so plentifully supplied. One ingenious device for saving labor is well worthy of notice. All who in their childhood have amused themselves with rearing silkworms — and who amongst us has not spent many an hour in this occupation? — have been accustomed to provide them with paper compartments iu which to carry out their spinning operations, but. the amount of labor that would be involved in supplying such accommodation for so large an army of spinners as is to be seen at Mr. Batchelor's would bo considerable, and consequently he has hit upon a far more simple method of furnishing them with the necessary conveniences. As soon as the worms show signs of being ready to commence their spinning operations they are removed to trays with wooden frames having a number of holes bored in them, in which are set twigs of manuka about two feet in height tied together at the top so as to form an arch. The insects climb up these, and there form the cocoons, and the little arches dotted all over with the yellow nests form an exceedingly pretty eight, as pleasing to the visitor as it must be satisfactory to the proprietor who there sees the silk

that is to remunerate hira for the trouble he has bestowed upon feeding and attending to the wants of his little friends during the two or three months that have elapsed since the hatching season. All the arrangements for cleanliness and ventilation have been most carefully made, and there is nothing in the slightest degree offensive in the room in which 40,000 living beings are spending their brief existence. We would recommend any of our readers who may chance to take an interest in thi particular industry to pay a visit to the establishment during the current week, and can assure them from personal experience that they will find both Mr. and Mrs. Batchelor quite ready to show them their little colony, in which not a single drone is to be found, and to supply every information that may be desired. Wanganul — Mr. Ingestre's house near Waihi has been burnt during the owner's absence. — Fat cattle are quoted at 80s. to 905.; sheep at Bs. to 10s. There were twenty cases set down for trial at the recent sitting of the Criminal Court at Dunedin. The Judge commented on the increase of crime, and advocated whipping all offenders against females. Mr. Fox, at the recently held Rangitikei races, prohibited the sale of liquor on the eourse, but the magistrates granted the necessary permission. It is said that Mr. Fox intends to lay an information against the publicans for illegal sale of liquors. Some amusement was created at the wrestling match in Weeport by one of the competitors coming forward and addressing the crowd, remarking that prior to Judge Ward leaving the district, he should like to have a bout with him. The proposal was greeted with hearty laughter, in which Judge Ward, who was among the spectators, cordially joined. Disappearance op a Christmas Dinner. — Leaving a door unlocked, says the Grey River Argus, led, on Christmas day, not to disastrous consequences, but to consequences the reverse of pleasant, especially to hungry, Christmas-loving people. Mr. Griffiths, a farmer at the Orari, believed, it appeared, so thoroughly in the honesty of his fellow-men, that he left his front door unlocked whilst absent with his family during a portion if that day. Upon his return, they found to their dismay, that all the good Christmas dainties provided had utterly disappeared, and not a vestige of them was anywhere to be found. From signs in the room, it was evident that the rascally thieves were biped. The kettle had been boiled, tea made, and the intruders evidently had enjoyed themselves "muchly." Not only did they eat to their heart's content, but what was too bulky to consume there and then, they must have — putting all manners aside — " pocketed."