THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 208, 31 August 1872, Page 2

THE WEEK.

On looking , through; tho various newspapers published in the 1 colony, whether . in Nelson pp , any of the other provinces, ope .•is;.^disposed to .wonder how; their columns are filled when the Assembly is not in session. Returns, statistics, reports, ; ;jß__d the^jßttefa'n'des" of oi_r colonial statesmen abotind, bafof news' of any 'other.; description there is a decided dearth, and "locals" -/are #a_^^lscorce /aB. ipluins;{in ; a u _^thebpya' H^ill v piiidding^ ; f Oreat; arei ttie Cgrbmblings -halli^slj^^afc^from persons to" tWnk)4haJ thev duly oi? the journalis.risj i ' ..ota^y^ record, but to inanlifacture, news, greater still isVthe , v :4i__iß'fis-i^ jack^^t^^ th^y.know.their^. . rea_ters : re^ that wbiefc theyiare ;paipfully aparir will lie cast on one side with- the contemptaops ; «^atip_i-- K^re> ; Jiwtb^ 4 in However^ Providence iteiapers, the wi^d Jo

. . ' ' ' , ' '■! ' ' the talking powers which find worjk for the Hansard reporters just now in Wellington is e_chaus^e^,'an!d'^the>.work.pf^the^ session is over, som|thifig|pr other of ii_c'a_t interest may turn Jip, and^the newspapersj be once more filled with matter more con- \ genial to the tastes of the maj ority of their* readerß. After such a preface, it will not be surprising if I at once allow myself to be drawn towards the great centre of attraction, and begin to speak of Parliamentary sayings and doings. Wellington is at tbe present moment in a ferment of excitement, and ,the froth that babbles over the sides of the seething cauldron and trickles along the wires to the localities at : a distance conveys but little- idea of what is actually taking place there. The office of "whip" just now is no sinecure ; buttonholes are so frequently manipulated that they are being" worn threadbare : the walls of the ••' lobbies"" could tell straDge taleß of hopes held out, and temptations offered- — temptations that are occasionally listened to with favorableears, but sometimes resisted — of gentle persuasions, open flattery, cunning blandishments and inducements of every description that are offered to those who show the slightest sign of wavering, in order to persuade them to range themselves with the " Ayes " or the " Noes," as the case may be. " The question is that so and so, &c. Those who are in favor of the resolution will say 'Aye,' " arid there follows a sound of many voices. " Those who are against it will say '• No,' " A confused sound, half roar, half murmur, is the response. " The Noes have it." "Divide." " Ring tbe bell." A pause, while the sand flows from one receptacle in the glass to the other. "Time." "Lock the doors." Then there are the usual preliminaries to a division ; the tellers are appointed, and the members congregate near the Speaker's chair, and from thence string forth like a flock of sheep out of a narrow gateway — " follow your leader." being the gatne played by some of them^—to decide whether Mr Fox or Mr Stafford possesses tbe confidence of the country. In the " Strangers' Gallery," crowded to suffocation as it is, you might hear the proverbial pin come in contact with the floor ; the "Lords," from their gallery, look on in digniGed.silence ; even in the space allotted to the ladies not a sound is to be heard, for each of them has her predilections; and takes as deep an inr terest in the result of the coming division as the most fervent politician who has poured his torrent of eloquence upon the House ; in one other gallery too there is intense excitement, and each member is carefully jotted down from thence as he passes the tellers, for the reporters, accustomed as they are to such scenes, cannot but share the interest attaching fotheproceedings. As, one by one, the representatives of the colony file past the recorders of their votes, they pass on to the other end of the room, and pleasantly chat one with another—Mr. Fox with Mr; Stafford, Mr. Vogel with Mr. Curtis, Sir David Monro with Mr. Gisborne— with an assumed air of indifference, and as though each loved nobody else in the world half so well as him to whom he is talking. The last of the flock has passed, and those who have been keeping tally compare notes, and hand in their lists to the clerk, who in . a calm and business-like manner checks the seventy odd names, and, having satisfied himself as to their correctness, places the papers before the .Speaker ; who, after adjusting his eye glasses, scans them over for pure form's sake, and then clears his throat and, in an authoritative tone of voice, calls -" Order." Members resume their places, and there is a dead stillness which is soon broken by the voice from the chair :• — The Ayes are — r- , the^oes are — ; — , the — —have it. Ob, if I could only fill up the blanks ! IJut the clapping $f hands and ringing cheers that arise from the body of the House deafen me; the mingled roar of pleased and: disappointed ypicep. fropfj tljfr Strangers' Gallery .'..perplexeß^'.metJ.aiid^the.' flushed cheeks, downcast and flashing: eyes^fqr. there are both— and 'waving of handkerchiefs in the jLadies' Gallery distract me, and lam ho more in a position to say at tbe present moment whether Mr. Stafford or Mr, Fo* is to be in power thftn ! J%g^ whenlhegan to relatp t^e. ;pf jir the vision that has been so rudely dispeljed by .•allc^hejse.disqordant sounds,^ ';. I v^.:,-r,-;ro ■ Fropa dreaqjs to reality. The Perseverance : has 5 atolerably fair return from the last crushing. F No coming meetiflig of shareholders persuaded the flinty iquartz to behave in so unusual a manner, but without any such, In^Uc^men^^ positively 'tieeir '/.ive^xtlii-i c » i' Sharejbplderf ->re juD_lant^shareß|aret in ; • de_an _ l£, an<F the publicjgeherSlly •are ; b'%inning to ask what the -effect wo^ld ' > be~ i oh the" commercial #ojr^ftp^ w^-i^ ,J 'bri^S''-p^^bii§e-a 'weefc such a " nice little 4ump-Df^p)dxayh_at with which; \

she was freighted on Thursday** last. , I I don't care^to -enter into such speculations, i ,butel#inceiejy ttrust that ere long J_ ..ijmay , [^avje*o speap; %ot ,of the possible, &b d$ ,of| ,'sthe| actual £r%afis of such an in-dgme." 'WilhTa m'ore jf kindly wish I co'ul<_^not possibly close this Saturday's letter. . . ■ -. • - -F.