THE WEEK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 112, 10 May 1873, Page 2

THE WEEK

A voice that might well proceed from a denjzen of the lower regions, so piteous are its tones, so abjectis its despair, strikes on myear, and tiie burden of the prayer it breathes is — Cut it short, please sir cut it short, for those people at the Provincial Hall yesterday did talk such a lot that I don't know where we; arev going to put ft all. I cannot resist such an appeal, the petition shall be granted, and I will cut it short. : Many years ago I remember the papers, , in reporting a race meeting at Stoke, congratulated tbe inhabitants of Nelson upon the fact of bullock drays having gone out of fashion as a means of conveyance to such scenes of dissipation, aud being superseded by four-horse coaches. *It may seem somewhat premature just dow, but I am going to congratulate the same people, or at least some of them, and . their sops and daughters upon the probability' that, ere two years have glided over their heads, four-horse coaches on the Waimea-road will have paesed into oblivion, and the railway train taken their place. We have made a fair start. The first sod of our long-looked for railway has been turned, and tbe next step in our otiward course will be the opening of the railroad, and by the time Nelson is connected with Foxbill by two thin lines of iron I hope— and I think the people of Nelson mean tbat it shall be so — that navvies will beat work in pushing on the iron road into the interior. A larger or more enthusiastic assemblage than that which gathered round that dainty little wheelbarrow and shovel on Tuesday last has never been_seen in Nelson, and in years to come the youngsters who assisted ia the cruel work of depriving the volunteers of . their sandwiches will perchance, relate to, their little ones what they did and what tbey saw on the 6th of May, 1873. The enthusiasm that then prevailed was not merely ephemeral. It lasted over the whole of the next day at least, for I am told by tbosa who travelled along fche Waimea road on Wednesday that they then saw weary watchers, whose voices were hoarse and thick, possibly from frequent cheeriDg / and whose gait was unsteady, owing no doubt to the sleepless night they had passed, who raised their hats as they rode by, and perpetrated a feeble hurrah, for the weakness of which they apologised by stating that they had on the previous day; - taken part in the solemn ceremony of placing under the sod all pre-existent animosities, and had spent the night in keeping watch, by the bier. It is possible I may have spelt this last word; incorrectly, but I don't think \t is worth the trouble of taking down the dictionary. to see The session of the Provincial Council is nearly a fortnight old, but what proportion that is of the total span of irs life nobody yet can form an idea. I wash I knew, for I am looking forward to prorogation day with as much anxiety eagerness as I used to do to my birthday when I was a schoolboy, as, unfortunately for me, my duties take me to the Hall every evening. 1 There is an old song in which it is laid down as an undeniable fact tbat " absence makes the heart grow fonder." I thipk-I should regard .the Councillors; with much greater affection if I didn't see and hear them in session quite arimuch as lain compelled to do. The work of the Council, so far as it. is seen by the public, does not yet show much progress, but a number of Committees are sitting daily, and their reports will probably, provide ample matter for diBCUSsion.Y If a few off them could : be? disposed of as cprtly as was that of Committee appointed to frame a* tepjy to the i Superintendent's speech^ of the session would be considerably curtailed. •-;• ■■■^■yy ■■<■■■■■.■ .■■■;■. -.. y.yy.-f.y v Some charitable individuals, chiefly of the softer sex, have ?of H late been success- ; fully apipiealed;,;to^ ;for TipeiftuniOT^ ■-. ! from?aj&^ '^;fory ' : poor dear little fellows had been Bent ont by their mama with fpr sale;, yA-y'':.-&fjߣy»F&^ they had'heen^ successful fn JHispoaiog >or 7 v 'them, and' were proudly returning -bom withy the ■shiHing-.;^they had vireceiyedi m | tYYYZZMZY^ZZYYZYZZY

exchange, when , sad to say,."the coin fell from their hand, or escaped through' a hole in their breeches pocket, or in come way or an.otberYwas lost, and the meeting.' | wiih* their ;, affectionate: parent to wliich ; they- had been fgl^efuily looking forward t became a source of trouble, and suggestive of discomfort , attending the act of sitting down. " Such was the heartrending-tale* they had to tell, and the; result frequently ¥ was that these good, hard-workiag little lads "were gladdened with the receipt .of a shilling to take the place of that which was -lost. The kind donors went on tbeir' way .with : the comfortable feeling that they had performed a generous and charitable action", but hadthey turned round alter proceeding, a few- 1 paces, they might have been astonished, andcertainly would not.bave been gratifiedj to ifind that the lately weeping eyes were> winking^ while the voice that; was recently choked with sobs chuckled forth tbe" tincomplimentary remark,,, ."Ain't ?she jolly green ?" I don't think: it is necesfsary for me to say any more on this subject. ■•■•■;■ : -.:..' :; F --'':i