The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 306, 24 December 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1872.

The Charles Edward arrived from the Wesfc Coast this morning with 63 passengers, who have come up here with the intention of epending the Christmas holidays. Perseverance Mine. — The Lady Barkly, which arrived from Collingwood last night, brought over the result of the last crushing, -which is 164 ozs. from 519 tons of stone. Inland Communication Committee. — A special meeting of this Committee is called for this evening for the purpose of taking into consideration a communication received by his Honor the Superintendent from Wellington relative to the Brunner coal mine. The Holidays. — Should the weather prove favorable there will be no lack of amusement this Christmas season. The interest attaching to the regatta will be considerably enhanced by the presence of the Wellington crews, who, thanks to Messrs. N. EdwaTds & Co., will after all be able to attend, the Wallace having been sent across to fetch them and the cricketers last night. The Red Jacket came over in the Taranaki, and will be sailed by Mr. E. Richardson. Several other yachts have also been entered, and there is quite a little fleet of them in the harbor just now. To the cricket match all are looking forward, as it is expected that the game will be as good a one as ever was played on a Nelson field. Christmas Fare. — Our butchers' shops presented such an appearance last nigh) as we never remember to have seen equalled here at any previous Christmas season. The beef, mutton, lamb, and veal were of the" very finest description, and showed* th&t, "notwithstanding the longcontinued'drought, the pastures must, in some parts of the country at least, be in excellent condition. We had intended to refer in detail to the various shops, but want of space prevents it. Christmas Day. — The work of dressing the churches has this year been entered upon with great spirit, busy hands'having been employed for some weeks, past in making, the necessary preparations. At Christ Church the decorations will be of quite a novel character, a large quantity of the necessary materials, having been ; obtained from England. Texts, devices, monograms, wreaths of immor-teHee,-&cv/&o./willlend their aid ia beau-

tjfying the cathedral church, in which the Bishop of Nelson will officiate in the morning. At All Saints' no pains have been spared in turning to account the facilities for decorating afforded by the pillars, while bouquetF, wreaths, and designs of every description will be found plentifully and tastefully interspersed throughout the building. At the Wesleyan Church the usual early morning service will be held at six o'clock, when anthems will be sung, by the choir. The customary Christmas eve mass will be celebrated at midnight at St Mary's Church, which, like the others, has been tastefully decorated. Mr. George Cotterell. — Mr Cotterrell gave his entertainment last night to a crowded house. Owing to some confusion that occurred in seating the audience, it was several minutes past the advertised time when the curtain rose, but Mr Cotterell was warmly greeted on his first appearance. Not having seen him act for two years, even his old characters came back upon us with a certain amount of freshness, and we were delighted to renew our acquaintance, amongst others, with the delightful Mrs Meals who was as charming as ever, the only difference being that the little weakness she displays in not knowing when her teaspoon is full of the medical comfort prescribed for her was rather more fully developed than before. Of the For continuation of news see fourth p nje.

railway scene we cannot say much, the best part of it, le our thinking, being the picture. Leitchfield MoßelyV speeches at a dinner given by the Society for the Distribution of Blankets and Top Boots among the benighted savages of the islands of the green Pacific were amusing to a degree. Mr Cotterell gave full point to the satire contained in the speech of the chairman and the report of the Treasurer who showed that out of an income of £2500, the sum of £50 had been devoted to the objects of the Society, the remainder being swallowed up in travelling expenses. The speech of M. Hector De Longbean in proposing the health of the " Ladies who cheer but do not inebriate " was inimitable, and gave rise to shouts of laughter. " Jack Smithers" was very happy in his song " The Ghost of Nelson," and the amusement that was caused by the concluding lines, which were as follows, may readily be imagined — For the broom on the top of that gum tree, . Seems ever to tell a tale, Proclaiming to all and sundry That the whole of the town is for sale. The farce " Turn Him Out," in which Mr Cotterell was assisted by amateurs, went very well, with the exception of now and then a slight hesitation, which, however, seemed to be attributable quite as much to a want of quickness on the part of the prompter as to any fault of the actors. On the whole, Mr Cotterell may be congratulated on the success of his first appearance after so long a compulsory rest. Bishop Nevill, of Dunedin, presided over his first Synod on the 1 lth instant. Picton. — In his charge to the Grand Jury at the recent sittings of the Supreme Court at Picton, his HoDor Mr. Justice Richmond is s reported to have said : — I hope it will not be long before the splendid capabilities of your port are employed in harboring shipping that will drain the back country of all its surplus produce, and take it to markets where it will meet a ready sale. The province will become developed as the public works get completed, and the connection of such a shipping port with the large tract of back country will work a great good to all interested in the place. I don't know the number of hands employed upon the public works, but it appears that the influx of population has not disturbed the normal state of the district. This in itself is a matter for congratulation, as it proves that crime does not necessarily increase with population. Acclimatisation. — The following is an extract from a letter received by Mr. Huddleston yesterday, from the Secretary of the Californian Acclimatising Society, in reply j,to fa communication requesting him, to forward certain American game birds, &c: — "I beg to state that we can fill your order, as far as salmon ova and mountain quail, and, we hope, some of the othfir game birds you mention, by the next or the steamer after. The sea trout do not spawn until February next, so we will not be able to send you these till some time in March. We have various singing birds here in quantities, which you might also wish to acclimatise. Please advise me if you have any of the common brown pheasants to spare." Peesbyteeian Chuech. — The following occurs in the report presented by the Secretary to the Presbyterian Assembly recently held at Christchurch : — "ln Nelson the Eev Mr Calder is at present the sole representative of our church, the Rev Mr Bannatyne having left Pawawa and gone to Picton, in Marlborough. In the portions of this province situate on the West Coast, there are several important places, such as Reefton and Westport, calling for immediate ministration ; and along the western side of Blind Bay, from Collingwood to Richmond, there are also- several districts devoid of our church's ministrations. The claims of all these districts were by the convener brought under the notice of the Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, who undertook to appoint and send out two men to minister to them, one on the West Coast portion of the province, and one on the west side of Blind Bay, but as yet no information has been received of the appointment of either. Meanwhile Mr Calder is doing what be can to visit in the districts more adjacent to the City of Nelson. The important district of the Amuri, rendered vacant by the translation of the Rsv Mr Hogg, will now become a distinct charge, and will not be long in having again the blessing of a resident pastorate. The committee are glad to report that a- fine site has been given in the township of Waiau,by Mr Rutherford, as a Bite for a church and manse for the charge. The Committee "are convinced that the destitute state of the provinces of Nelson and Marlborough, calls at, this instant more loudly for the serious attention of the whole church than any <^ej church's care/ and they express the earnest

hope that whatever the Assembly may do with respect to the continuance or abolition of this scheme of the church, they will take- measures for dealing effectually with the destitution here referred to. This is the weak point in the church's present line of operations, and it will be to her disgrace if she does not strengthen.it." •' -