THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 88, 12 April 1873, Page 5

THE WEEK.

They appear to have had rather a lively time of it in Wellington of late. Seats in the Ministry have been going a begging and nobody seemed to think they were worth picking up. Messrs Peaice and Hunter tnrned up their noses at the very idea, Mr O'Eorke did not know what to think about it, and Mr Yogel for once was fairly bothered. However, he has apparently determined upon remaining master of the situation, and has accepted the Premiership with all it responsibilities, leaving the filling of the seat to Providence and his own 'indomitable will. He is a clever man and is possessed of the*enviable cat-like faculty of always falling on his feet, and possibly his good luck may cot desert him on the present occasion. What the House will say is another question. His unquestionable abilities were fully recognised in the last session; but he waß not looked upon as altogether a safe horse when placed in the lead, and consequently Mr Waterhouse was promoted to that position in order that he might steady down and check any inclination to bolt s displayed by the wheeler. But Mr Waterhouse has, on the first touch of the collar, jumped clean out of harness and left the coach at the mercy of the team which without him was, not regarded as entirely reliable. Let us hope that the horses upon which we now depend' are not too highly fed, but that they will steady dawn to their work without displaying either shying or bolting propensities. It was somewhat of an afterthought, bat it certainly was a happy thought, that of sending a deputation to Wellington to wait upon the Government and ascertain their views upon the subject of our endeavours to open up communication with the interip^ 'and^ ;;Proyinc|ei(";'^^^

Yogel, which will of course be published in to-night's Mail, but a cursory glance at it is sufficient to show that the reply made by Mr Yogel, on behalf of the Government, to the memorandum submitted by the deputation is most favorable to the project. The countenance of the General Government will go far towards giving to the proposal to raise a Company a stamp of genuineness and bona Jides, and will unquestionably prove of great assistance to the promoters in the efforts that they will now be perfectly justified in making to raise the necessary capital. The General Government, it appears, is willing to be guided to a great extent by the advice of that of the Province, and after the unanimity that has hitherto been disylayed, there can be little doubt of the Provincial Executive and Legislature acquiescing in the wishes of the people. We certainly have reason to be thankful to Mr Yogel for the readiness with which he has entered into the scheme we have propounded, and I think I . may also say that we are deeply indedted to the members of the deputation for the concise and comprehensive manner in which they placed the matter before the General Government, and the ability and apparent success with which they have advocated our cause. Martin's Bay is scarcely a desirable place in which to reside. Periodically, say once in three months, we are informed that the settlers there are on the very verge of starvation, that they have had very little to eat for the past five or six weeks, and are not likely to get any more for the next three or four. Then, in the course of time, we learn that a steamer has been despatched to their assistance by the Otago Provincial Government, and that on her going up the river, creek, or bay, or whatever it is that leads to the abode of the heroic individuals with regard to whose fate we are so frequently alarmed, it is found that they have been subsisting for some time on their seed potatoes and fish that have been caught by young ladies residing there, who clearly do not come under the classification of " Girls of the Period." We are comforted for a time, and Martin's Bay and its inhabitants fade j from our memory, until once more we find that they have relapsed into what appears to be their normal state of starvation. We never hear of fortunes being acquired there, or of any real progress being made, but the chief, and, so far as I know, only, attraction that the locality offers to intending settlers is a chronic absence of the necessaries of life. This may, to be sure, prove a powerful inducement to some few peculiarly constituted individuals, but on calmly considering the pros and cons I confess that I am not much surprised at the want of success that has attended the attempt to form a settlement in this out-of-the-way place. I cannot say I like a toady, but one cannot but admire any man who does the work he has taken in hand well and thoroughly. Such, it will at once be allowed, may be said of the writer of the following paragraph, which appeared in an Auckland paper in connection with the departure of Sir George Bowen from the colony : — " Lady Bowen is one of the most estimable ladies known to society, and her children promise all the virtues and graces of the mother, with all the candor and genial bearing of their viceregal parent." I like the term " vice-regal parent," and have a strong desire to see these children in whom are combined virtue, grace, candor, genial bearing, and descent from vice-royalty. If the writer of the exquisite sentence were to go, paragraph in hand, to Sir George Bowen, and ask his assistance in obtaining some employment,, I should think,, he might command anything, might even hope to be appointed head flunkey tothisexceptionably desirable household. Then, with what pride and gratification would he at some " swarry " of Jeameses enlarge upon the noble qualities of his vice-regal master. If such a situation be the summit of his ambition, I most heartily wish he may get it. . F.