THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 245, 11 October 1873, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Now tbat th^session lias come to an end, a little breathing time is allowed us, and we are able to look round aod see what our representatives have, been' doing towards promoting the interests of those who eend them to Wellington. Their labors commenced on the 15th of July, and ended on the 3rd of October, so that they had ample time to look into the affairs of the colony,, aud to turn out a numberof Bills, To do the latter some of them appear to have tried very hard, but they did not meet with the success their perseverance deserved. As a proof of this I will make an extract from an^olficial document that has been placed in* my hands containing a schedule of the business of the House of Representatives. . In it I find the following which is interesting as showing why the session lasted, •= until the Srd of October, instead of terminating

about the middle of September. Ifc ia a statement of the number of Public Bills that originated in the House and their fate: — Received the Koyal Assent ... 66 Keserve ! for the signification of Her Mf)j"st''s pleasure .. ... 1 Dropped or otherwise disposed of 84 Total ... .. 151 Now this I think is instructive. It was deemed necessary by some person or persons to add to the bulk of our Statute Book to the extent of 151 Acts. In their chrysalis form, and while they were yet Billsjthey were brought down to the House ' and the majority of them talked over and discussed, until at last it was discovered lhat considerably more than half of them were not wanted, and so 84, out of 151 wero " dropped or otherwise disposed ol." I wonder what would be thought of a farmer holding three fifty-acre secfious if he were to employ his men acd teams for eeveral wet-ks ii ploughing and harrowinji 84 acres ot his land", and after expending so much time aud labor upon working it, were to decide that nfter all he would not turn if, to any account. His neighbors would prol-a'dy arrive at the conclusion tliat, if there happened to be an empty cell in a certain buildiug near the Hospital, which is not devoted to the reception of those who are suffering from bodily ailments, they could euggest a fitting cccu-j pant for it. Of course I have no intention/ of hinting that a Lunatic Asylum ia the/ proper piace for the Colohial represents! tives, but am merely hazarding the opinion that if somebody else were to do something similar to what they have doue, hns friends might deem it necessary fo consult/ a doctor as to the probable stato of tis rnind. In the same document to whicn I have referred, I fiud some other statements which are suggestive of arithmetical calculations. We are told tbat tlie days of meeting of the House were 52^ the hours of sitting 371, and that the daily average waa 7 hours. Several of the 84 unfortunates that " were dropped or otherwise disposed of" — my admiration of the euphemistic phrase must form my excuse for its repetition — occupied a very/ loug time in their discussion, so that I scarcely think I shall be far wrong if I take it for granted that, say, an hour and a half was devoted to each, consequently, ior 127 hours out of the 371 there is nothing to show, or to put it in another form 18 days out of the 52 might be classed un.ler tha heading •' Yux et ptseterea nihil." To be sure the membei^s do nofc now receive a daily honorarium, so that we cannot complain of their wasting a hundred or so of guineas a day for 18 days, but if they are disposed to grumble at having been obliged to devoting so much of their time to the service of their couutry, we shall not feel it incum-/ bent upon us to offer them our sympathies/, nor would it be impertinent to ask tbem why they do not put a atop to such nonsense, or why they did. not insist upon the Bill-conceiving Bathgate creating a vacancy on the Treasury Benches. I confess that I do not like reading Hansard, and I feel more at roy ease now that I have had an opportunity of having a good growl, and thus getting rid of the bile engendered by a perusal of twenty-one of those dreary pamphlets, the very sight of which is suggestive of the blues. I have long been on tha look-out for some quiet vale of rest in which to build a country villa, where I may spend the remainder of my days, after I have made my fortune by contributing f>:- weekly letters lo the Press, and I have at last determined upon the locality that is to be honored with my presence. Happy Valley is the district of all others that I should select as my place of residence. The inhabitants of that favored spot constitute one of the happiest families it was ever my lot to meet with. It is true that they do occasionally have 6ome trifling disagreements amongst themselves, but they are essentially a law and order-loving community, and are always ready to submit their disputes to the decision of a magistrate. One of the principal features in their little misunderstandings is that each party makes it appear so clearly that justice is on his side that the arbitrator is very frequently puzzled to know how to decide between Ihem. They are so large minded, so capable of taking a broad view of any question immediately affecting their interests, and invariably display such a magnanimous independence of the logic of facts that whenever three cr four of the brothprhood tako up one particular position^ a similar number is always lo be be fount! oh the other side prepared to assail that! position with the earnestness and vigor of men who feel ( . perfectly well assured that they are iu the righ'U" Their disputes, as a rule, are not of a very grave character. The ai-eicjentai insertion of a knife into the side of n pig is sufficient to render necessary the services of a magistrate, and even so slight an occasion as this calls forth much of the latent talent of the district, which is unsparingly brought to bear upon the question at issue.. It does not, however, happen that ihe solution of it is made more easy by thje fastiroony adduced. Indeed, I have occasionally known it to be slightly conflicting, but this, as I have said before, is p'tjpbably to be attributed to the wonderful capacity of the Happyvalleyans for taking a'large and comprehensive view of any subject to which their attention may be directed. Everything considered, I don't think Happy Valley is to bo beaten as a place of residence. I have, however, made up my mind on one point. When I go there to live I shall keep no pigs. I am not aware whether I can boast of any young lady readers of these jottings of mine, but in case I should be so favored, I will, for their especial information, use my scissors uj|op the columns of the Taranaki Herald, wler|in I have met with with the following advertisement:— " T. J., a yonng gentleman aged 26, living

at Manutahi, Patea, with a moderate income, earnestly wishes to correspond an:l exchange carles de visite with a respectable sweet-tempered young lady, with a view to matrimony " In Nelaon, I believe there are to ba found a large number of "respectable, sweet-tempered" young ladies, but whether they have a •• view to matrimony " I atn unable to say. If so, a splendid chance is here apparently , offered to ihem. I would suggest, how-'' ever, that they should ascertain something more definite ahout the income, and it might be as well to find out, before sending their photographs, whether this forlorn -' young gentlemau" is only a fool himself, or trying to make fools of others. F. For remaindt rqf news see four th page.