THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue VII, 27 July 1872, Page 2

THE WEEK.

i Both business and pleasure have ' received a serious shock during the last few days by the extraordinary vagaries of the weather which has been conducting | itself in a manner without precedent. The results in tbe country districts have been most disastrous; rivers higher than they have ever been known to be before; 1 bridges or their approaches entirely destroyed ; good arable soil converted into barren shingle beds; root crops washed away ;, and cattle and sheep drowned in every direction. Such are some of the effects of tbe late floods, and although they may seem comparatively trifling when put upon paper thus in a few. words, there are many of our outrsettlers who a fortnight since were in comfortable circumstances, to whom they mean nothing short -of ruin the most complete and disastrous. I could give many instance, of this, but,, will content myself with one :—• A young farmer in a certain district that has been exposed to the ; "ravages l^o'f.^' the floods, had rented a block of land upon a purchasicg '

clause. For yearß he had toiled hard upon his land, risiDg early and going to bed late, working hard and steadily, and practising the strictest economy, and by these means had scraped together sufficient to convert his leasehold into freehold property. It is not many weeks since he camo into town to complete tho necessary arrangements which were to raise hira to the position he had loujj coveted, that of a landed proprietor. He paid the money, amounting to several hundred pounds, and was at last able to congratulate himself upon having attained the object ot his very laudable ambition. He could look out from the door of the cottage he had built aod view with some degree of pride (he fine block of laud that, by dint of hard work and indomitable energy, he had made his own. He can still survey the same extent of country, but what does he now see ? The soil that he has worked for so long, find which, with its kindly fruits has added little by little to his carefully accumulated store, has entirely disappeared ; the fences he had erected are all gone, and nothing is now to be seen but a dreary waste of river bed. Ia it possible to conceive anything more heartbreaking ? The labor of years all thrown away; the goal he had striven for so long to reach vanishing from his sight just as he was congratulating himself upon having arrivod at it ! This is but one instanco that has happened to corao within my knowledge, who shall say how many similar ones there are of which For remainder of news see fourth page.

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We may perhaps never hear ? It is a melancholy subject, and one that I gladly leave, I sincerely wish that those who sre chiefly interested could as easily consign it to oblivion. From/the parliamentary telegrams that reach us daily it would appear that there is not much doing yet iv the Assembly, the only debate of real general interest that has taken place having been on the motion of Mr. Gillies asking the intention of the Government with reference to Provincial institutions. The reply, as will have been seeu, was that Ministers had thought better of it and had no intention of proposing any alterations in the present state of affairs. We must not, however, take the fortnight that has elapsed since the Governor delivered his empty speech, as a criterion of what is to happen, for the host of returns that have been moved for will certainly lead to some sparkling debates, and a few interesting disclosures may fairly be looked for. I see that the Minister of Public Works for the Middle Island has stated that tha construction, of tho Nelson and Foxhill railway would be commenced as soon «*i3 the plans were completed. This might be viewed as encouraging were it not for the trifling circumstance that the plans, if not already prepared, might have been got ready months ago, and are only waiting the bidding of the Government to be placed in Mr. Brogden's hands, but perhaps Mr. Reeves had forgotten that it was in his power to procure them whenever he felt so disposed, if so, it is to be hoped that our representatives will not allow his faulty memory to stand in the way of the line being commenced, but that they will constantly remind him and his colleagues that they, and they alone, are responsible for auy delay that may take place in entering upon this work. The news that three patients just recovering from small pox had been discovered on board the Nebraska at WeUington after she had been pronounced clean at Auckland aod allowed to enter the harbor, is enough to rouse the anger of the whole colony, against the captain of tho ship in the first place for haviug prevaricated and misled tbe authorities as ho must have done at Auckland, and against the Health Officer at that port for having allowed himself to be so easily deceived in so important a matter. If it be really true that the captain has knowingly made a false statement with reference to the sanitary condition of his ship, no punishment that the law will allow can possibly be too severe for him, and it is to be hoped that the severest penalty will be inflicted upon him. It seems to me that I am always being called upon- to record some instance of smartness in connection with the San Francisco mail. Here is the latest. The Nebraska arrived at Auckland on Saturday last, and, according to a telegram received yesterday, we are to receive our portion of the mail, wind and weather permitting, on or ; about Wednesday next. Seeing that the American steamers have proved themselves utterly incapable of keeping their contract time, surely it would be far wiser on the part of the Government to recognise this fact, and arrange for the branch service accordingly. It is folly to have a steamer in waiting on Monday with permission to leave on Wednesday when experience has shown that; there is not the slightest probability of her services being required before Friday at the very earliest. F.