THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 197, 16 August 1873, Page 2

THE WEEK.

I daresay a great number of my readers remember a strange apparition that appeared at that never-to-be-forgotten meeting:, when a certain candidate for the Superintendency addressed the electors of Nelson in the Provincial Hall. It consisted of an old man, bent nearly double with the weight of years that bore co heavily upon his shoulders, who, supporting his tottering limbs with a walking-stick, held in one hand, while in the other waa a lantern, walked unsteadily up the centre of the Hall, shouting at the top of his voice — "I '00l bave a railway." That strange old man was only giving utterance to the determination that, some four years later, was again to be expressed in tbe same building, not this time by one solitary voice amidst peals of laughter from the surrounding crowd, but by the crowd itself, with an accompaniment not of derisive laughter, but of earnest, heartfelt applause. "We will have our railway," was the conclusion unanimously arrived at on Tuesday night ; fair promises only made to be broken will not satisfy us, plausible excuses will not be accepted by us, flat denial will only us, and render ue more than ever determined to obtain that which we know will so largely benefit ourselves, and be advantageous to the whole colony. With one voice the people declared that a railway through the heart of the Province was the one object that they had in view, and that no Government that would not carry in'o t ffeet the almost promise of tbe present Ministry, would be deserving of their support. It was really refreshing to see the unanimity that prevailed, the earnestness with which tbe matter was discussed, and the decision arrived at. Not only refreshing but en-

couraging, and with such a feeling existing in our midst, even that ancient individual who so forcibly expressed his views on the subject four years ago may hope to sco the commencement of the great work. "We will have our railway " is by no means a bad watchword to adopt in these days, when every other division of the colony is taking good caro to secure to itself a full share of the money to be expended on public works. A very disagreeable, if not an entirely new, theory appears to bave been adopted by one of our representatives. It is thia. If there appears to he a majority in the House opposed to any scheme that is likely to confer a benefit upon Nelson — Heaven knows that there are not many such proposed — the representatives, of this province are to at once knuckle under, admit that it is of no use to endeavor to uphold the interests of those wbo elected them, and go over to the other side ond throw their influence into tbe scale against ,their own particular district. It is not pleasant to reflect tbat even one of those who should be our champions is so faint-hearted, so vpry easily beaten ; it is not at all satisfactory to think that the votes of outmembers are to depend not upon the merits of lhe question submitted to their decision, but upon the consideration of which is to be the winning side. It betokens danger to the province if these are to be the principles upon which our representatives propose to shape their course. When a proposition was before the House to mako Nelson the first and last port of call for the mai! steamers, and the head-quarters of the fleet of which thoso boats form a part, it is not satisfactory to find that one of Nelson's representatives had taken his place among the ranks of those who were opposed to such a scheme. If one of our members has made up his mind that the interests of Auckland are of more importance than those of his constituency he has a perfect right to his opinion, but he should at least tell us so, and give us an opportunity either of strengthening him in the position he has taken up by re-electing him, or of choosing a representative who would not be only half-hearted in his advocacy of our cause. I have occasionally taken upon myself to express a pretty strong opinion with regard to the want of enterprise displayed by the Nelson folk in not establishing horticultural shows in a town that nature has made the most favorable spot in the whole colony for the production of fruits, flowers, and vegetables. It is pleasing to find that it was only necessary to call attention to such an omission to secure its being remedied, for the matter has now been warmly taken up, and in November next we are likely to have such an exhibition as I take leave to think will rather surprise those who have not yet had an opportunity of judging what can be and is produced in Nelson. It is gratifying to find too. that a commencement has been made in the direction of prizes being offered by private individuals for special exhibits. Mr Drew offers an eight-day time-piece for the best four pot plants shown by cottagers, and we may hope that others will follow his example. This is done to a great extent in othar provinces, nnd apparently produces very satisfactory results, such as we may hope to see here if the same liberality is generally displayed. Without desiring to be egotistical I have a word or two to say about myself. Some remarks that I made a fortnight ago were referred to at the late public meeting as having been written by ." the editor of the Evening Mail.'* Now what I want to say is, that, even supposing for argument's sake that the writer of these weekly notes and the editor of the Mail were one and the same person, no one has any right to allude to the " editor " as tbe author of them. Writing in an editorial capacity and in that of an occasional correspondent are two entirely different things. They are not confused in the mind of the writer, and it is unfair to him that they should be so by the public. If the editor of any newspaper should feel disposed at any time to wander from the column specially devoted to his productions to that which is open to tbe public, he has a perfect right to do so, and to expect that what he there has to say shall not be looked upon as expressing the opinions of the journal over which he for the time being has control. Whatever I choose to write in "Tbe Week " is open to criticism, and I do not seek to avoid it, but I wish it to be distinctly understood that approbation or abuse or whatever else my communications may call forth is not to be bestowed upon tbe " editor of the Mail." If anyone does me the honor to comment upon what I may have to say, I must ask him to be good enough to allude to me under the norn de plume I have adopted. I have already made use of it nearly a hundred and fifty times, and out of that number of letters I have no doubt that some have been exceedingly stupid, while on other occasions I have possibly made some happy hits. All I have to ask, and I think my request ib an exceedingly reasonable) one, is that whoever may feel called upon to pitch into or applaud me, will do me the favor of bestowing his attentions upon F.

For remaindtr of news see fourth page.