Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 163, 8 July 1873, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 8, 1873.

The telegraphic information which we published yesterday respecting the mail service between Australia and New Zealand must have been received with satisfaction here, since it will be seen that Nelson is to be made the central port, the northern boat meeting the mail steamer here both on her arrival from and her departure for Melbourne. Latterly, the Suez mail has always been brought via the Bluff, and it is possible that the Otago people may demur to the now arrangement, but any objections they may raise can easily be met by having a coach in waiting at Hokitika ready to start through to Chrislchurch immediately upon the arrival of the Melbourne steamer, and a boat in readiness at Lyttelton to proceed to Port Chalmers at once with the southern mails. An arrangement of this kind would lead to the mails being distributed throughout the colony far more quickly, and consequently more to the satisfaction of the general public, than is the case as present, Wellington, as a rule, having now to wait six, aud Nelson seven days for jhe receipt ___,. ~ r _,_-___-f*.-__ r __-_ i: _--_ 1 rival on the - coast, whereas by the new route, in four days from the time the steamer reaches Hokitika every one of the chief towns in the colony can be placed in possession of its mail bags. Now is the time for an effort to make Nelson the coaling station of the Melbourne boats. The Ngakawhao coal, than which Done more suitable for steam purposes exists, can be lauded more easily and more cheaply in Nelson than in any other of tbe New Zealand ports, but steamers are almost as much creatures of habit as are men, and once let these Melbourne boats, after the establishment of a regular subsidised service, get into the. way of going on to Wellington to obtain their supply of fuel, and it will be found that the head-quarters of the Albion Coal Company will be permanently fixed on the northern side of the straits instead of in Blind Bay, which is far better fitted by its geographical position to become the chief coaling station for the mail steamers both on their outward and inward voyages. Nature has favored us in this respect, and the General Government has been compelled to acknowledge that this is the most convenient spot in the colony for the distribution of the mails. A little push on the part of our mercantile men will r_ake it the coaling port for M'Meckan and Co.'s steamers, and although this in itself may not be a matter of such great importance, it would be a great step in the direction of securing the principal portion of the trade of the Albion Company. Dunedin men say that the climate of Nelson is so soporific as to render it an undesirable spot for the meeting of the delegates of the Company. The present seems to be an excellent opportunity of showing that we are more wide awake than we are supposed to be.

the Nelson members to tho Assembly, but we understand that a telegrura has been received in town to-day slating that she would' not be back from tho East Coast, where she now is with MrM'Lean, in time, and consequently those of our membera[who are desirous of being present at the opening of the Parliament wil! have to proceed to Wellington by the steamer Wellington to-morrow, after which there will be no opportunity until the 16th instant. The other day, as Sir James Fergusson and the Rev Mr Hare were passing along the beaph, one of the stone carts which had just been tipped, proved beyond the driver's power to raise again, he accordingly called out to the two gentlemen "Come on, gents, aud lend us a hand." With this request his Excellency at once laughingly complied, and vigorously assisted the carter to overcome his difficulty, and to replace his cart iv its proper po-itiou. — Post. . The splendid battery of the Band of Hope claim is in the hands of the Philistines, and was announced to be sold on the 24th instaut, "unless the debt and costs be sooner satisfied." The result has not yet transpired. A Hawke's Bay paper complains of the- wretched stuff sold as spirits iv that province. It says : — Although we havo no intention of throwing more aspersion on the public-house keepers along the Taupo road than on those in any other part of the province, or of the colony, it is a circumstance we are bound to note, that worse effects follow the indulgeuce of drinking in Hawke's Bay than in England, and we cannot but think that this is more or less due to the vile compounds sold under the names of brandy, whisky, &c." At the monthly meeting of the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, held at Christchurch on Friday last, the Curator reported that the salmon ova were all hatched, and the. fish had commenced to feed ; tho number living was 45, two having died -shortly after hatching. There are still three deformed fish, not likely to live. From the appearance of the ova, there is little doubt thai, could they have been landed a few days sooner, a . much larger number would havo been hatched. The very hot weather had also a prejudicial effect. Eggs that showed unmistakeable signs of vitality so long as the temperature was kept down to 50 degrees, rapidly died off at 55, tho natural temperature of the spring. A species of fungus attacking the living eggs had also occasioned some loss. There were, however, plenty of fish to render tbe experiment ultimately successful, should, the after management prove fortunate. The game of golf, which has lately been introduced in Otago and Canterbury, and which ought to be practised in every Province possessing suitable ground, is thus spoken of by tho Field :—-" We should like to refer aoy clergyman to an English clergyman who has played for fifteen years in the North, and regrets that he has lost SO many VJ>nrn' o_yo>-iii*-*nf.. nr.d - _o~m_"c_rgood health, by not knowing of the game earlier. His admirers, who know how devoted he is to tho game, but do not know its influence on the brain, calculating the time ho expends upon the parish and upon his golf during the week, can hardly imagine that the eloquent sermons he delivers with so much effect on the Sunday can be his own composition. It is the game which was ordered hira by his doctor, and he, by following tho prescription, finds, like many other membeis of learned professions may do, that health and strength of body brings increased power of intellect ; and many au overworked man would do well to bring his brains to the same grindstone without paying a doctor's fee for the advice." The Auckland Herald of the 26th, says : — During the whole of yesterday quite a* crowd was assembled in front of Messrs Upton's shop in Queen-street, the object of attraction in the window being a sketch illustrative of the march of the Auckland Volunteers " to the front" to capture Purukutu, and their retreat upon Auckland after seeing that redoutable gentleman in ambush. In the first part of the picture the Volunteers, consisting of the Engineers, the Hobsons, the Scottish, and the Rifle Brigade, are seen gallantly marching "■ to the front," to the music of the band ; tbey suddenly come upon the figure of Purukutu, who starts out of a flax bush before thera, with a tomahawk in one hand and a revolver in the other. The second part of the caricature shows the result in a rrost laughable manner ; every man turns tail, and, instead of striking for his country, strikes for his home, with a noble disregard for the blood of his wife's relation that is perfectly astonishing, and at a speed that would put Bird's running to the blush. Many of the faces are quite recognisable, and on this account the picture creates all the more merriment. We are informed that it is the work of quite a boy. If so, it does tbe lad great credit, for it is without doubt one of the best things of the kind we have yet seen done in Auckland. We clip the following from the Grey River Argus which gives some little idea of what travelling between Greymouth and Reefton is like :— '■ Another large landslip has taken place on the main road up the Grey Valley, effectually putting a stop to traffic for the present. Tbe slip occurred on Saturday, on the east side of the coalmine, entirely blocking up tho road and rendering it utterly impossible for the up-country coaches to attempt to pass. The No Town and Roefton coachea had to be left on the other Bide, and ti was with great difficulty and daDger tbat the horses were led singly over the slip in the dark, with boulders constantly rolling down the hill. One of the boulders, weighing some hundreds weight, passed between one of the horses logs, but fortunately, without injuring it. The

horses and drivers, with tho mails, arrived in town late oa Saturday night. The contractorfor the maintenance of the road was then at work, with a large relay of meu, clearing off the slip, and it is expected that the coaches will bo brought through on Monday. Tho road from the Twelveraile to No Town is reported as being in a fearful condition. On the last trip of tho coach one of the horses was submerged in a mud-hole up to its ears, and tho coach was several times giveu up for lost We bear that under these exceptional circumstances, unless some urgently required repairs are immediately made to the road, it is not the intention of the mail contractors to continue running the coach — which means smashing coaches and drowning horses — during the winter months. A Note of Warning. — Farmers in South Australia are called sharply to account by the Observer for the " utter want of system " with which agriculture is carried on in that colony. Manuring and resting tlio land is never thought of. Tbe idea of turning the results of scientific research to account in the practice of agriculture, except as regards labor-saving appliances, is scouted as absurd. The only rule followed is " tha rule of thumb," and farmers " look upon the soil not as a possession to be conserved and kept in heart for the benefit of themselves and their children, but as an easily-acquired heritage to be worked out and then abandoned." The only features common to all tillers of the soil aro said to be " slovenlinees, and a singular disregard of the natural laws of production." A few inches of earth are turned over year after year, and robbed of all its plant-giving qualities, and because their harvests aro scarcely worth the reaping, the farmers bewail their hard fate. Farmers' Clubß si -.in to have died out, and with the exception of the Central Agricultural Society the country associations are said to be in a " miserably dead and alive state." Exhibitions and ploughing matches are the only things recognized or thought about. Truly this is a pitiful picture, and one that is " not at all creditable" to a colony, which, if not agricultural, is nothing. The deplorable condition of things so vividly pourtrayed by the writer of the article from which we have quoted, if allowed to continue, will assuredly bring down the " sword of Damocles," which Dr Mencke says, hangs supended over the heads of the people of South Australia. Nor will advertising in English journak the export of 200 tons of breadstuffs grown iv one year, although it may bring a few emigrants from the old country avert the threatened danger. The cure for the evil complained of will sooner or later have to be effected iv the colony. South Australian farmers must work out their own salvation, aided, but not " nursed and coddled " by tho Government. Immigrants aro nil very well in their way, and will supply labor, but they cannot change a " rule of thumb" system of farming into a rational one. That change must be brought about by teaching the farmers a _<-**-r t-jotcmj T! n a t.fcu*r besirwayto" teacii farmers is to encourage the more enterprising and intelligent amongst them to adopt improved methods of management, and to teach each other, not theoretically, but in the most potent way of all, by practical example. Some among the many farmers in South Australia could show, no doubt, that tha rotation of crops is a possibility, that live stock can be profitably kept on farm 3in conjunction with the production of cereals, and until this is done, there will be slender, if any, grounds for hope as regards improvement in the present system of spoliation. It is the duty of the Government to help the farmers to help themselves. The way to do tbis would be by establishing a department of agriculture, to unite and bind the agricultural body together, evoke and direct emulation, and disseminate sound practical knowledge throughout the length and breadth of the land; by offering prizes for the best managed farms, combining tillage with stock, encouraging the introduction of well-bred animals, cattle, and sheep, and th_ establishment of Farmers' Clubs, where all matters pertaining to the improvement and advancement of agriculture would undergo ventilation and discussion. These are some of the steps tbat will have to be taken before the present ruinous system can be altered, and South Australian farmers taught that " slovenly " wheat growing is not an enduring system of cultivation. — Melbourne Age. Tho American Neiospaper Reporter says: — " The chap who could do all the business he wanted without advertising, has been compelled to advertise at last. The new advertisement is headed ' Sheriff's Sale.' " General Fremont has been sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and Boileau, formerly French consul-general at New York, to three years' for financial frauds in connection with the trans-continental railway. We take the following from a home paper :—" There is a statement going the round of tbe clubs, and which has an appearance of truth, that the Prince of Wales is likely to take a more adive part than ever in horse racing. In the meantime a number of well-meaning people, calling themselves a Protestant League, are drawing attention to the attendance of His Royal Highness at the inauguration of the Bristol Racecourse. They point out tho grievous picture" presented to the country bj a man occupying such a position as the Prince holds, and who but fifieen months ago, was lying in the very jaws of death, and whose recovery was owing to the prayers of tho people, now going to the West of England to open a racecourse which was quashed more than twenty years ago because of the scenes of vice and immorality which it caused in the neighborhood. These persons ask whether this is not flying in the face of Providence.

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