The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 291, 6 December 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1872.

, The e.s. Wellington is expected to arrive here about 12 o'clock to-night. Shipping Telegbams. — Complaints have reached us from all sides with regard to the irregularity with which shipping news ,is telegraphed to the office in Nelson. For instance, the Wellington left OnehuDga at 12.30 yesterday, and at seven o'clock no intimation of it had been received here. Nelson and Foxhill Railway. — Mr. Carruthers, accompanied by His Honor the Superintendent and Messrs. Austin and Dobson, started for Foxhill this afternoon, and will devote to-day and to-morrow to inspecting the proposed line. They visited "'Theßocks" yesterday, and it is rumored that the idea of taking the railway that way is likely to be abandoned on account of the expense. Cricket,—- A scratch match will be played to-morrow at Victory Square, between,.eleven natives' of the province and eleven outsiders. The Union and College clubs will take part in the game. Wickets to be pitched at' 2 p.m. — -A challenge has * been received , from the Wellington club tb7 play a match at cricket some day in Christmas week." It has been decided to accept Jit, and the Wakefield j Union, and :■ College clubs will amalgamate to form ■ a 7 strong 7Jel^n. 7 vlt7;isj7 expected, that the 7:Nel^ h-ii-Rrbyinciß^for''' many yJears, and there| is no TtHejpatcb yif^^yzfiiff AfAf ' yfffy 'AyfAfZyy ff y 7-two vounees to; the ton, as the .lowest anticipated results^ whenthe plates are cleared up; Tlifiii^xt crushing will most probably bebetter etillas the stone tobe/taken from

present crushing, with which a lot of mullock and inferior stone ywas unavoidably intermixed. — Westport Times, N0v.29. ; New Duties. — A return has been published showing in detail how the sum of £15,077, new duties, collected under tbe V Customs Tariff Act, 1871," is made up. •The amounts »are as follows : — Beans and peas, 9d per lOOlbs, £19 4s 93; flour. Is per lOOlbs, £2691 ; maize, 9d per 100 lbs, £1353; meal, ls per lOOlbs, £37; wheat, 9d per lOOlbs, £2335; hops, 3dper lb, £1614; malt, ls 6d per bushel, £1547; rice, per lb, £3346; soap, 3s 6d per cwt, £289; sawn timber, 2s per 100 ft, £1325; shingles, 2s per 1000, £197; palings, 2s per 100, £298; posts, 8s per ! 100, £1,65; rails, 4s per 100,, £14. ! A Doubtful Compliment — The Marlborough Express says : — " We learn from Wellington that Mr. Luckie, of the Nelson Colonist, has been offered the editorial chair of the Auckland Southern Cross at a salary cf £800. It is said, moreover, tbat this talented gentleman, who is deservedly honored most out of his own country, intends to avail himself of the offer." The paragraph was no doubt intended to be complimentary to the subject of 'it, but is it not a little too bad to assert that the gentleman in question is deservedly honored most where he is least known ? Italian Opera.— Tbe Opera Company left Auckland for Nelson in the Wellington, which sailed at noon yesterday, and will perform at the Oddfellows' HaU to-morrow evening. We have beard that there has been some little hesitation in takiog tickets on the grounds that there is a possibility I of the steamer having to sail between 11 . at 12 at night, and that consequently the opera will be hurriedly performed, but we have the authority of tbe agents for stating that they are instructed to detain the boat to suit the convenience of the Company, so that, as it will not be high water until 3 a.m., there will be ample time for the programme to be satisfactorily carried out. It will be seen that no tickets j are to be issued after noon, to-morrow, so that all who desire to attend had better i pay an early visit to Mr. Stanton. Railways and the Timber Trade. — A Wellington paper says : — " We learn that the tender for timber for the alterations to the Government Buildings sent in by the Wellington merchants was 2s per 100 ft higher tban that received from Invercargill, but that it was accepted because the tenderers from the South . could not engage to deliver the timber by the time specified, having to depend on sailing crafts for its delivery. A comparison between the two tenders suggests the necessity for improved communication between the City of Wellington and the interior, as doubtless the higher amount asked for the timber by our merchants is in consequence of the cost of carriage by v drays across the Rimutaka from the Wairarapa Plains. One advantage of the railway, when completed, will be that our valuable bush will be utilised, and we shall be able to compete successfully with other provinces in tbe supply of timber." How applicable is this latter remark to the proposed line of railway into the Buller. Waitara and New Plymouth Kailway. — In the report furnished by the assistant engineer-in-chief on this line, it is estimated that tbe traffic would amount to only £1604. The. working expenses, says. Mr Blackett, including maintenance of line but not of bridges, for running two trains each way, or 40 miles per day, will be about £3000 a year, but to this must be added, if the inland line be adopted, extra working and maintenance expenses to the amount of £300, making a total of £3300 per annum, or more than double the estimated receipts. On this calculation, therefore, it is clear that the New Plymouth and Waitara railway, as a detached line, will not pay workiDg expenses, and that its construction would be justified only on the assumption that it will at some future period be worked in connection with other lines to which allusion i*s made.