The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 154, 29 June 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1872.

Provincial Council.— A vacancy has been caused in the representation of the town in the Provincial Council by the resignation of Mr. A. S. Collins. The Westpokt Land Pttrchace, — A private letter received from Westport by the Charles Edward statea that a " monster petition " is being got up on the West Coast, praying the General Government to cause an enquiry to be instituted into she circumstances connected with the Westport Land Purchase. Westport Sea Encroachment. — The Superintendent has appointed Mr. John Sharp to act as Commissioner in the matter of distributing the land set apart for division among those whose properties have been washed away by the recent sea and rivet encroachments at Westport. Mr Sharp proceeds to Westport for the purpose in the Wallace this afternoon. Anchor Line of Steamers. — The fine little steamer Wallace, which arrived from Lyttelton last night after a splendid run of tbirty-oDe hours, has been added by Messrs. N. Edwards & Co. to their Anchor

Line of Steam Packets, and will at once take her place in the West Coast trade. She is advertised to sail for "Westport this afternoon. Stoke Farmers' Club. — The next monthly meeting of this Club will be held on Monday evening next, at (he usual place and hour. Mr. J. W. Marsden will read the continuation of his paper, and one of Mr. Barnes' hand flax-dressing machines, of which we have made mention before as doing their work so well, will be exhibited at the meeting. Drawing - Room Entertainment. — Mr. Hoskins and Miss Colville played again last evening to a somewhat poor house, tbe pieces selected being Queer Courtship, three scenes from Richard 111, and the amusing farce The Silent Woman, the whole of which were acted in the most pleasing manner. We trust that a bumper house will assemble on Monday evening, on which occasion, his last, appearance in Nelson, Mr. Hoskins takes his benefit. The programme, which promises a mo9t entertaining evening, will be foum! in. another column. Alarm of Fire. — A most absurd alarm of fire, which brought everybody out of their bouses, was raised between 8 and 9 o'clock last night. A boy in passing Beachville, seeing the light from a fire inside a house reflected on some linen that was hanging outside on a clothes line, took it into his head that something was wron^r, and, without waiting to see, started off down the beach shouting " Fir.c, 51 The bell at ihe Port was at oace rung, and in a very few seconds replied to by the clatter of the two bells in ihe-town ; great excitement naturally followed, the members of the Brigades turned out with their customary alacrity, and were soon at the scene of the " fire," but it was not found necessary to neutralise by the turning on of the hose the drying operation to which the linen that had given rise to the alarm bad been exposed during the day. Supreme CouRT,--Tbe first sitting: of the Supreme Court at Picton was held on die 19th inst, -when, there was one criminal, one civil, and one divorce case. lv the former, seven months had elapsed between the committal and the trial of the prisoner, seven weeks of which be wayS in gaol, but was then liberated on finding bail to the amount of £200. The charge was one of assault, and the jury eventually found a verdict of " Nol. Guilty." Speaking of the accommodation provided for the Court the News says : — " We cannot compliment; the Province upon the extreme suitability of the Court House provided for the sittings of Justice Richmond upon his first official visit to this province. The day was a wet, wintry one, the room — rather dimly lighted — was cold aud cheerless from want of a fire; and we have no doubt his Honor, who is suffering from ill health, felt the damp aud cold acutely."