THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 47, 22 February 1873, Page 2

TH E W E EK.

It is a fortunate thing for us that we are to have a little life and animation infused' into our midst ia a few days by the arrival of four or five score of visitors, for at present, the tenor of our way is exceedingly even, aiid bur daily life painfully uneventful. The little excitement in store .for the town will therefore be hailed with pleasure,. and this seems to be shown by the interest that is taken in the preparations now being made for the reception of * the rifle 'TT.;,champions/7 ; y Hotel . keepers are looking forward to well-filled houses, cabmen rather like the prospect in •■Btbre!r{^ has pot been heard to raise a flicgie objec-

tion to the shooting taking place at Stoke. The south-easterly winds by which we have been annoyed of late will surely bave blown themselves one by tte time the crack 'of the first rifle echoes along the Waimea ranges, and we may hope that the Wellington weather which has taken a trip across tbe Straits and paid us a visit will, by that time, be consigned back, to whence it came, and the Nelson climate assert its supremacy for the occasion. Wellington weather is objectionable, but Wellington Enterprise is commendable, and the province of Nelson is about to prove a field — probably a very profitable one — for the investment of the spare capital of the sister province. A company is being formed for carrying, if not for working, the coal that exists in untold quantities, and which is known to be of first-rate quality, in the western portion of our province. The consequence will be that Wellington will assume the position that should belong to NelsoD, of being the chief depot for the Grey, and probably for the Ngakawhau, coal. I wonder why it is that in Nelson we either entirely neglect our opportunities or else take advantage of them to a very insignificant extent. Is it owing tb the want of energy and enterprise, or of capital, or of both, the latter being the result of tbe former? We manufacture cloth and woollen goods, and what we do is done well, but it is only on a very little scale. The cloth manufactory here is the oldest in the colony, and no complaint has ever been made of the quality of the article turned out, but it is entirely eclipsed by an establishment of a very recent date in Otago. We have done a little coal mining at Collingwood, and a little more at the Grey. There is a little tanning going on, and a little flax manufacture. And yet for all the articles I have mentioned there is a world wide market. The flaxen and the woollen goods tbat we turn out nre not inferior to those produced in" other places, our coal is not surpassed, scarcely equalled, by that of Newcastle, and yet we jog along in the same quiet way, doing very little to turn to account our facilities for producing that which the' outer world is i eager to receive from us, and which we ; could, if we wduld, supply in abu'n- j dance. The town and suburbs of Nelson j are eminently adapted for a manufacturing district, and yet ? day by day,, we secT other provinces, with natural advantages in no. way superior in this respect to, pur own, taking the wind, out of our sails, and turning put yards and tons where we are satisfied with feet and pounds. I daresay others have thought over these matters as well as myself, and I should like to know how they account for a state of things that is as lamentable as it is strange. My solution of tbe question is that there is a lack of cohesion and combination amongst us. Take our flax and cloth works for instance. Each of them is carried on by men who appear to thoroughly understand theirbusiness,and who devote all their attention and energy to it, but their efforts are paralysed by tbe want of capital, and yet there is capital in the place, which might be most profitably invested in the promotion of such works. Far be it from me to pretend to dictate to the capitalist how or in what manner he should lay out his money, but it has frequently occurred to me that if an attempt were made to turn it to account in some such way as I have indicated, it would not be long before it might be said of such an investment : — lt is twice blessed : It blesseth him that lends, and him that takes. I have slightly altered the original words, and I will now add to them and say that money so spent would " bless" — which is a comprehensive word in the sense in which I use it — not only the lender and the taker', but the whole community in the midst of which it was used to promote industries that without its aid could not exist. What has stimulated! he Mossgiel cloth works in Otago, and sent them so far in advance of the little establishment owned by the Messrs. Webley in Nelson, but a combination amongst men of capital and experience ? Why do Auckland and Canterbury boast ofjlax manufactures on a scale so superior to that which exists at Richmond ? Why are the Wellington) Min about to take — -not exactly the bread out of oar mouths—but the coal from our province to enrich themselves ? There-is plenty of food for thought here; food that,' if well and carefully digested, may yet tend to strengthen and invigorate oar constitution. JBut I sat down to give a little sketch of the events of the week, not to sermonise. I have' sometimes, heard it asked why religious, discussions should be shut out of newspaper columns., I think a full and complete reply has been furnished to suchi an enquiry within the last few days.T An attack a was 7; made 7by a Roman Catholic. Bishop upon; Frefc^ 7so6n:cameTTt^ craft, but he was not content with defending the brotherhood, but' must 'needs

unpleasant remarks upon the religious per? suasion oi the dignitary who had wounded his feelings. Thereupon another writer, evidently a. Catholic, puts his pen to paper in defence of Catholicism, deprecates any discussion which might create "malice and uncharitableness," and forthwith proceeds lo accuse Protestants geoemlly of bigotry and ignorance, and modestly concludes with the hope that " the columns of your paper will not continue, open to sectarian attacks." Bravo, Mr " Crux " ! If I were the editor of a newspaper and had two such warnings as are conveyed in your letter and that of " Free and Accepted Mason " before me,* I should unhesitatingly accept your advice, and at once acknowledge the undesirability of allowing a religious discussion in tbe paper over whicb I had control. We all know how Christians of different sects love one another* but such public displays of .their affection are not"for edification. Let Catholics and Freemasons have an occasional scrimmage in the papers if they like, but Catholics and Protestants, never. Not a single convert „will ever be gained by either one side or the other by such a discussion, while deadly enemies may be made by both. In watching such controversies one is disposed to be sadly sceptical as to whether tbe advent on earth of Him whom those of both creeds acknowledge as their great Master was really heralded by the angels' song, " Peace on earth, good will towards men." F.