THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 221, 13 September 1873, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Both in and outof Parliament this has been about as dull a week as we have ex- I perienced for a long time. Even the telegraph, which occasionally brings us a little bit of news either startling, gratifying, or depressing, has been very quiet, and until yesterday, when it conveyed to us the melancholy intelligence of the disaster j to tbe Claud Hamilton, and the drowning of her captain, has given us nothing to talk j about, while of local news the week has been even more than unusually barren. I therefore warn everybody who takes up this paper ihat my periodical letter is gojsg. 40-bfi-©xcßg§iye4y-gJopid, -snd would recommend them not to read it any further. If I cannot /ay nlaim to being interesting, I may at all events have the credit of being honest. Dnll though it has been for the last few. days, I rather like the prospect opening up for Neieon, for it certainly is brightening. Something is at last going to be done to turn our minerals to account, and before very long we shall have a company at work in the Collingwood district turning into money the thousands of tons of iron, ore tbat have for so long been lying there neglected. Not altogether neglected though, for we have at least one enterprising citizen who in a small way has been manufacturing and converting into a saleable article the hematite which in no other province in New Zealand would have been permitted to remain so long unworked on a large scale. Mr Louisson has acted the part iof pioneer in this business well, ana it is pleasing to find that he is so well satisfied with the result that has hitherto attended his speculation that he purposes enlarging and adding to the appliances already ac his disposal. The new company, however, will of. course commence operations" on a far larger scale than could be expected of any private individual, and ere long iron will form one of Nelson's principal exports. It is said too that another company with a capital of £50,000 is forming in Melbourne for the purpose of working the WesitWanganui coai, to gu> whioh into the I

market they intend constructing a tramway across the narrow neck of land that intervenes between the mine and Golden Bay, where the coal will be shipped for export. For this purpose they will, if all. the preliminaries are carried but to their satisfaction, purchase two large steam colliers to be engaged in conveying oor " black diamonds " to Melbourne. Nelson shipping; coat to Victoria willindeed be a, gratifying alteration upon tho existing state of things, aDd we shall be able with the utmost composure to put up with the absence of the barques and brigs that now occasionally visit us from Newcastle, conveying to our shores shiploads of that mineral which is to be found in such vast quantities within our own boundaries, Then again we hear of numerous applications being received by the Waste Lands Board for leases of large; portions of the/ Ngakawhao and Mount Rbchfort coalfield/. All these things considered, I don't think I am too sanguine in saying that brighter days appear to be dawning upon a province, that for so long a time has been standing still while her neighbors have been passing her in the race for wealth and prosperity with giant strides. Canterbury and Otago beat us hollow in the production of wool and grain, but if we can supply them and the Australian colonies generally with iron for their machinery and engines, and coal to drive them, we shall not be far behind any of them either in wealth or importance. I and other newspaper writers in Nelson have for so long beeu obliged to pen our letters, paragraphs, and articles under a sense of gloom and depression that; I may be pardoned for devoting so large a space to remarks more cheerful and jubilant than has been my wont of late. Our Exhibition is going to. be a great success. There can no longer be a doubt of if, for where a matter of this kind is so warmly ahd so widely taken up, all fear of failure is at an t end. The number of -the special prizes; offered .for competition is already co large and so continually on the increase, that,; it seems pretty clear that inducement will be held out to exhibitors to forward almost every conceivable article either of natural productions or of local manufacture, and the only matter likely to trouble the committee is where they will find room to stow the exhibits or pack the visitors; We certainly must use our \ best endeavors to in-' duce people frdm the: other provinces to come and see us at that time, for we shall have something to show them that will be weli worth the trouble and expense of a visit. Indeed, if Nelson people themselves are not a little astonished when they see what tbe province can produce, I shall be much surprised. I see that one gentleman has offered a handsome prize for the best bale of dressed flay, but this, : liberal and praiseworthy though it be, is scarcely going 'far enough in this particular direction. Might I. suggest to those 1 who have determined to offer prizes, but have not yet made up .their minds what particular industry to encourage, that Nelson- made wool bales and corn sacks would be well .deserving of a prize, and that any inducement to manufacture these particular articles would probably confer a very great boon on the place. We have numerous flax-dressing machines at work in the district, and if we could only turn the fibre to account here instead of sending it to Europe; to be manufactured, what a \ large isu tri Jof money we should keep in the place that now annually finds its way to England. We are making capital cloth here, we are going to burn our own coals; and produce our own iron, why npt make our own corn sacka : and wool bales ? Having made up my mind to write a stupid letter I thought I would say something about the weather, but while considering what novel remark I could make upon this somewhat hackneyed subject, I chanced to take up a Tuapeka paper wherein I found the following :— " The Frost King has laid his icy hand upon the district, and put a temporary stop to all out-door work. By skating, snow-balling, sliding, and other wintry sports, we honor the visit of his hoary majesty, who has hung his crystal tapestry, spun by fairy hands in a single night, upon the craggy cliffs of our mountains, and decorated the deep gorges and perpendicular walls of our turbulent riv ers with transparent veils of solid ice, broken through here and there by- shrubs end profuse creepers of the brightest green, or the moss-covered foundations of the soaring" peak above, j In the open valleys the wheat is putting forth its tender blade of lovely green ; while; on the bill above 'the sear, the yellow leaf is seen. The hills o'ertop the frowning mountain's brow, are clad in nature's marvel, beauteous snow ; and, far beyond, the heaven's azure stretches, &c. M rcan'tbeaitbaVsol'thinkl will let the weather alone for the present. ; •• y ■ * 1 s. *. ?• For remainder of news see J but th page.

The debt of the Sydney Corporation amounts to over £800,000, of ; which £218,000 is on water Bupply account, and £200,000 for sewerage. I A yonth struck bis horse with a gun to make him go. Tbe horse, three Sogers, and the gnn went off so quickly that nobody feels qnite competent to Bay which started first. A canny Scot who bad accepted the office of elder because some wag had made bim believe tbat the remuneration was sixpence each Sunday and a boil of meal on New Year's Day, officially carried around the ladle each Monday after service. When tbe year had elapsed he claimed the meal, but was told be had been hoaxed. "It may be sac with tbe meal," he replied, coolly, " but I took care o' the saxpence myself' Some attention has been aroused In the medical world by tbe treatment of cancer which is now being pursued in London. Tbe doctor who introduced this method is a Hungarian, named Glob. He contends that cancer is not a local but a general disease; and that it arises from tbe presence of a poison in the constitution ; and tbat the knife will never cure tbe disease, but only postpone its fafal effpct. His remedy consists in setting up another disease — ■ fever — under the influence of which the blood poison which causes the cancer is thrown off. We are told that he has made some marvellous cures. Afc Uruguay, says a Continental correspondent of tbe South Anstralian Chronicle] 30,000 tons of Liebig's extract of meat are annually prepared, by boiling down tbe fine portions of the meat and evapora- j ting the "syrup" till it has tbe consistency of paste. The residue was buried ! or thrown into the river. Bavaria bas tried some experiments by fattening pigs on this refuse, which is dried, pulverised, end made into " animal fiour," and mixed with potatoes. In forty-four days some pigs experimented upon doubled in weight; and while 2 cwt. of potatoes alone increased the weight of the animal by 12 lbs, the addition of lOlbs bf tbe " flour " more tban doubled tbe weight in the same time. Tbe following extract from an English received by the last mail gives some idea of the enormous trade of tbe United States: —From the official statistics lately published, It appears tbat tbe aggregate im- ! ports and exports for 1872 were larger in bulk than those of any previous year. Of the imports (677,144,579 dols.) the heaviest articles were tbe following : — Sugar and molasses and their manufactures, over 90,000,000 d015. worth; wool and woollens, ; nearly 82 millions ; iron and steel and their manufactures, nearly 62 millions ; coffee, 43 millions ; cotton goods, 36 rail- * lions ; silk goods, 35£ millions. These six classes of articles make up more than one-" half of tbe total importation. Of hides and leather, from, abroad the United States took 28 millions ; tea, 24£ millions ; flax am 1 linens, 23 millions ; gold and silver, 21 millions; chymicals, 11 millions; fruits, lOi millions ; tin, 17 millions ; woods and forniture, 11 millions : wines, 9 millions ; tobacco and cigars, 9£ millions ; breadstuffs, 10 millions; chioa and earthenware, 6 millions ; glass and glassware,. 7 millions ; indiarobber and its' manufactures, 7 millions ; raw silk, 6f millions. Of the exports. (597,194,010 dols.) the chief articles were breadstuffs, provisions, petro« leom, gold and silver, cotton and tobacco.. Tbe state of society among seals is at present (says the Pall Mall Gazette), such as to cause much anxiety to those who are interested in them. It appears from tbe evidence given by some of the sealing captaios before a committee oi the Legislative Council of Newfoundland that there is a painful disproportion of the sexes in seah'sh circles — indeed, one experienced sealing master gave it as his opinion that among old seals there are twenty males for one female, and there is reason to fear tbat this is the case also among yonng seals. The consequences maybe, easily imagined. .Fierce combats take place between the male seals during the matrimonial season, rendered all the more bitter, because, notwithstanding this disproportion, polygamy is an institotion with seals as with Mormons, and tbe result is that hundreds of old bachelor seals are condemned to celibacy against their inclinations, jealousy and distrust exists on all sides, and a general selfishness arises utterly subversive of domestic or Bocial happiness. In addition to these discomforts, the seals are destroyed by thonsands without consideration for age or sex. One sealer, the Neptune, in ber first two trips, lately brought in 44,000 seals — valne 183,000 dollars — in one season. In Green Bay the Neptune fell in with a large herd enclosed in the ice, the captain formed his men into line, and at the word of command they rnshed upon their prey, and in two or three hours despatched 8000 old seals with their gaffs and clubs. With the view of preventing the destruction of seals when too young and the disturbance of mother Beals when engaged in nursery occupations, the Newfoundland Legislature is about to pass an Act prohibiting steamers from leaving port for the seal fishery before the 10th of March, and sailing vessels before the sth of March. Altogether, the seal in the Zoological Gardens may console himself for his captivity by reflecting that his position might have been worse bad he remained at home.