The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1879.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 189, 7 August 1873, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1879.

A meeting of the Inland Communication Committee was held last night for the purpose of taking into consideration the present aspect of our railway scheme. Until Mr Yogel delivered his Financial

statement there was a very general belief, based principally upon the accounts given by the deputations that have been sent henca to confer with the Government in Wellington, that he was fully disposed to asßiet us to the utmost that lay in his power in constructing this great colonial work, but a widespread feeling of disappointment has been created by the manner in which the matter was referred to in the budget |speech. The principal condition named by Mr Yogel as necessary to securing his support was that the Superintendent should make application for the work being undertaken with the consent of the Provincial Council. This was complied with, a resolution recommending it having been agreed to unanimously. Another, but apparently secondary consideration was that a favorable report of the capabilities of the country through which the line has to pass should be furnished by a gentleman appoitfted by the Government to examine it. On tliis head, the Committee at their meeting last nighf, felt they had just cause for complaint. Mr. Calcutt, as we all know, was sent here for the purpose. He rode aloDg the track from Nelson to Greymoutb, accomplishing the journey in something like fourteen days, four or five of which were wet, with the mist hanging about to the very foot of the hills, and upon such knowledge as he was able to obtain in this hurried trip, he has reported that the whole of the country between Foxhill and Brunnerton that will be affected by the railway may be set down as worth £137,000. Against a decision upon so great a work being arrived at upon such insufficient grounds we must protest, the Committee protested, and the whole Province will protest. If we nre correctly informed, the people of Nelson have yet another grievance to complain of. In his interviews with the deputation Mr Yogel distinctly stated that Mr Wrigg's report formed quite sufficient; grounds upon which to ask the House to consent to the commencement of this railway. He now urges as an excuse for its delay th:at no Parlia mentary survey has been made. Had he stated to the members of the deputation that such a survey would be indispensible, measures would have been adopted long ere this to prepare it, but no such condition was mentioned, but on the contrary it was plainly declared by Mr. Yogel to be unnecessary. A resolution was adopted by the Committee last night and forwarded to Wellington this morning, impressing upon our representatives the necessity of acting in concert in pressing our claim upon the Government, and requesting them to forward to the Committee their views upon the matter, and it was agreed that, in the event of their not being prepared to cordially support the scheme, meetings of their constituents should be called by the Committee with a view to bringing such pressure to bear upon them as might be deemed necessary. Never before was it more imperative upon the various Nelson constituencies to pull together. Six votes at the presen t juncture if bound together by one common tie are not to be despised, and it must be impressed upon our members that they are expected to work together as one man in securing for the province they represent her just share of the public works expenditure. Their action must be not only unanimous but immediate, for if the present session is allowed to pass by with a poor promise that at some future date an examination into the mineral and other resources of the country lying between Nelson and the West Coast should be undertaken, our chance of reaping any benefit from the public works policy, will be for ever and irretrievably gone, as in the meantime the other provinces which are more numerously, and, what is still more to the point, more systematically represented, will have secured such a hold upon the available funds that poor Nelson, with her divided force, each individual'of which usually acts independently of his fellows, and without that common bond of union which makes the other provinces so powerful, will be left shivering in the cold, clothed merely in the few tattered rags that the central Government, either from a sense of charity or policy, may have thought fit to throw to her. Wellington, in addition to her railways, is going to ask for £200,000; Auckland flies at higher game and requires authority to borrow a million. If both obtain what they want nobody will be surprised, for both Auckland apd Wellington members when the interests of their respective provinces are at stake work in unison. The representatives tbat Nelson sends to the Assembly must do the same, or their constituents will want to know the reason why. But to compel their representatives to act unanimously the electors must be of one mind. Are they so ? This is a question worthy of their consideration. If Nelson as a whole allows her interests to be ignored this session, she may rest satisfied that for the future her place will be in the rear rank, and that her only satisfaction will be that of seeing the other provinces march to the front while she remains hopelessly, helplessly, pitiably stationary. A charming prospect indeed.

We are indebted to Captain Scott, of the Alert, for files of the Lyttelton Times to the 4th inst. Fiji Banking Company.— We would call attention to the advertisement which appears elsewhere containing the prospectus issued by this Company. The directory is an influential one, and shares are being rapidly taken up in Auckland. We recommend a perusal of the prospectus to capitalists. Ruinous Effects of the New Tariff. — Under the above heading, a correspondent sends the following : — The morning after the issue of the new tariff a little boy went to one of the shoe shops in the town for a pair of bootlaces, with his usual twopence. He was sent back for another penny on account of the new tariff."

Madame CoftA. — The Odd-Fellows' Hall was crowded again last night. The performance was quite equal to that of the two previous evenings, and as such received the applause of the audience, whose interest in the distribution of the handsome presents that are nightly given away had in no way abated. Madame Cora performs again this evening. Intekprovincial Football Match. — The following gentlemen compose the team selected by the Nelson Club to play on the Wellington ground next week. Messrs. Barnicoaf, Blackburn, Blundell C. Cross, Denshire, Monro, Nicholson, Roy, Sharp, vSpeed, D. C. Tennent, Wells, Wither and R. C. Tennent, (captain). It is probable that two more players may go, but they have not given a decided awnaer yet. On Saturday next the above team will play all comers at the Botanical Garden, to get into practice for the Wellington match. A large muster is expected, and | if enough alLcomers (urn up a good game will be the result. The Nelson team will leavo by the Phoebe on Wednesday next, returning to Nelson the following Sunday.