THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 54, 2 March 1872, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Events of interest to the public at large are getting rarer and rarer in Nelson, and to fill a column every seventh day with a mere report of that which haa occurred in the intervening time requires some little ingenuity on the part of the writer, so that should I succeed in filling my allotted space on the present occasiou I shall feel that I am deserving of considerable credit. The West Coast has of late been the great point of interest in this islaod, the Premier aod the Superintendent of the province having been visiting the mining districts, receiving deputations, holding meetings, replying to questions, and making themselves generally agreeable to the residents. Mr. Curtis' visit appears to have been a well-timed one, as he was able to refute many statements of a not altogether truthful nature that had been made to Mr. Fox, and he has had an opportunity, of which he has availed himself, of fully explaining to the miners and others the precise state of the Provincial funds, and the intentions of the Executive with reference to the goldfields. These explanations have been attended with good results, and a much better feeling seems to prevail in those districts he has visited with regard to the Provincial Government, which is not now looked upon as a harpy preying upon the vitals of the mining population without the slightest consideration for tbeir feelings or pockets, such as a few of the residents in the Coast towns would have the people believe. The satisfactory results of this trip will doubtless have the effect of inducing his Honor or some of the other members of the Executive to pay still more frequent visits to the goldfields, and thus to show to those who are residing there that their interests are not really neglected by the authorities, and a more harmonious feeling will consequently spring up between the eastern and western portions of the province. Tbe recent floods in the Buller have been of such magnitude as to give rise to the fear that Westport may be at any time swept away, while they have shown that it is of little use to undertake protective works unless upon such a scale as is utterly beyond the reach of the Provincial or even of the Colonial funds, and X understand tbat a suggestion was made by Mr. Fox to the effect that the wiser plan to be pursued would be to shift the town to a position higher up the river. Whether or not this is practicable or likely to be carried out yet remains to be seen. Two telegrams have been received during the week from the Minister of Public Works for the Middle Island that are of some little importance. Tbe first is to the effect that the General Government have arrived at the very sensible decision that an itinerant Parliament is not a desirable thing, and consequently that the next

session will be" held in Wellington instead of dragging the members, officials, and documents to the extreme end of tbe colony at a large pecuniary cost to the country, and. as was shown in the case of the White Swan, at gome little risk to the papers, &c, that it would be necessary to have at hand. The present seat of Government is perhaps as disagreeable a spot as is to be found in the whole colony, but it haviog been decided that Wellington is to be the capital, and the Government House having been erected there at a considerable expense, it would be folly, in the present financial position of the couutry, to remove it permanently, although this may be done some day when the revenue bears a more favorable proportion to the expenditure, but, in the meantime let us have no wandering legislature. Tbe second telegram to which I have referred is that which states that the working survey of the Nelson and Foxhill railway is ordered to be commenced. From this it would appear that the counsels of the traitors in our camp have not had the weight with the Government that those who offered them wished might be the case, and we may yet hope that this important work will shortly be commenced, and we must trust that those of our representatives who remain true to tbe interests of their constituents will endeavor to persuade the Ministers not to proceed with this, the first portion of a through line to the West Coast, quite ' ; so leisurely "as they were at one time disposed to do. There is one event that has occurred since I penned my last weekly notes that I cannot refrain from alluding to now. It is scarcely necessary to say that I mean the death o( Mr. James Burnett, a man who was beloved by those who knew him intimately, and respected by all. Men of his stamp are rate amongst us, and we can ill afford to lose them. The suddenness of his removal intensified the grief that it caused, and while mourning his loss as a public calamity, we must all of us sympathise most deeply with his widow who was denied tbe privilege of being at his Bide in his last moments. The death of a relation or friend at all times leaves a sad blank iu the hearts of those who are left, but in this case tbe attendant circumstances were of an exceptionally melancholy nature. I find that every fourth Saturday I have one unfailing subject for remark, namely the non-arrival of the San Francisco mail. What with the colony paying £50,000 a year, the owners of the steamers losing money by his contract, and the glorious uncertainty that always prevails as to the date when the mails will reach us, this much- vaunted service can scarcely be looked upon as an altogether desirable oue. F