THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 15, 17 January 1874, Page 5

THE WEEK.

As the time draws near for the meeting of the Provincial Council there is a general feeling of anxiety with regard to the proposals that are to be brought down by the Superintendent. The members of the Executive are all in town now, and it is said that frequent meetings have been held, so that we may hope that everything will be in a state of forwardness and that the whole of the Government business will be ready to bo proceeded with at once. Judging from the tone of the papers in other parts of the province the new appointments appear to give satisfaction, but individuals are to be heard expressing doubts as to the fitness of some of the members for tbe office; however, it is scarcely fair to judge them before they have had an opportunity of showiug whether they are worthy of our confidence or not. After the session is over we shall be better able to form an opinion as to their merits. The Greyraouth papers decidedly disapprove cf the Executive as at present constituted, but there is no occasion to go far to discover the reason for their disoontent or pretended discontent. Since Westland has been converted from a County into a Province, the people or the papers have begun to cast covetous eyes upon the Nelson goldfields, which they would be glad to see included within their own boundaries. To accomplish this an agitation must be got up, and to get up an agitation it is necessary to provide a grievance, and if the people residing in the Grey Valley can only be taught to look with suspicion and dislike upon the Government under whose rule they are placed they may be induced to petition tbe Assembly for permission to join their neighbors of Westland. Hence these muttered grumblings. Wheels within wheels. Verily there is uo machinery so complicated in its workings as that which is known as "politics." But, notwifhstanding the direful predictions of our Greymouth friends, I think the public will be disposed to give the new Government a fair trial, but if they do not give satisfaction I am quite sure they will be told of it. I don't think the colony has lost much in exchanging Sir George Bowen for Sir James Fergusson as its Governor. The latter appears determined to obtain a thorough insight into the character, manners, and customs of those over whom he has been sent to rule, and he thinks he can efieot his purpose better by living among them and examining for himself than by merely making State visits to the various parts of the colony. He hus spent several weeks in Canterbury and Otago, and probably will come to see us for a few days, and if he is as open and outspoken with the people of Nelson as he has been with those of Otago he will probably give us a few valuable hints and his visit may be productive of some good. I could not help — and I daresay the idea has occurred to many others—noting the contrast between the speech delivered by him at the banquet given to Mr Yogel, and those which his predecessor was wont to inflict on his hearers upon all public occasions. I have no doubt that had Sir George Bowen been in our present Governor's position he would have lauded the province of Otago and all its institutions, from its University to its street drains, to the skies. The former, and the educational system generally, would have been a perfect model of its kind, and I should not have been in the least surprised — for I have read many of his letters and speeches —had he stated that in his next despatch to the Secretary of State he should strongly recommend that a commission be sent out at the joint expense of Oxford and Cambridge to enquire into the manner in which Dunedin managed its University with ti view to a similar system being adopted at the more ancient seats of learning. Probably, too, he would have been enraptured with the local gaol and the excellent prison discipline maintained therein, and would have suggested that they were worthy of imitation by all the governments of Europe. Now, Sir James did nothiug of the kind. He saw what he thought were faults, and detected what appeared to him to be weak points in institutions otherwise excellent and he did not^ hesitate to speak his mind on the subject, and Ofcago, as represented by the banqueters, said "Hear, hear," and appreciated having a man to govern the colony. It will be a pleasure, I am sure, to read Sir James Fergusson's despatches containing a description of his visit to the great southern provinces, and to compare them with those written by our former Governor on similar occasions.

The captain was drunk, and the first mate was drunk, and the second mate was drunk, and the steward was drunk, and the sailmaker was tbe worse for liquor " That was the state of affairs on board the ship burat shortly after she struck The Surat, be it remembered, was carrying a freight that was moderately valuable, that is to say she had 300 emigrants on board, and the lives of all these unfortunate people were imperilled because those who were placed in charge of the vessel had voluntarily reduced themselves to a state of part.al insensibility. lam not a lawyer and am unaware to what p a i ns and penal' ties this drunken captain, and his drunken SSI h™, to -J-i aYe rendered Aemselves liable, but if they can be made to smart for their disgraceful conduct I eincerely hope they wHI, and, hoover severe may be the punishment inflicted upon them I will be "Served them right." Anarfc from the serious aspect of the affair, there is fiomething ludicrous in the description of the cond.tum of the various officers SfcH ref6 !; red T to h ? fche *«««• of the fhe cap^ 0 " bfiiWßen ? e state in which iuo wiF^m, mateß, and steward were said

to be, and that ascribed to the sailmaker. The four former were " drunk," and the lattes 1 was only "the worse for liquor." There must have been some shrewd observers on board that ship since they wero able, at a time when they were quite uncertain as to when she might go down with all her living freight, to notice tbe distinction between the man who was drunk, and him who was only the worse for liquor. The .stoward, who was drunk, was ateeriug, we are told, that is to say, he was unable to stand steady and so was supporting himself -with the wheel. It will be interesting to learn to what extent the sailmaker was able to trust to his legs, and what were the favorable symptoms he displayed which induced the passengers to attribute to him the milder form of intoxication only. Disasters frequently are the means of briuging to the front some one or more fine fellows who only required the opportunity to earn for themselves a high reputation for humanity or courage or some other virtue that had perhaps lain hidden in their breasts. The wreck of the Surat has proved no exception to the rule, aa it has brought under public notice one who deserves the highest praise from all who hear of his generous conduct. I refer to Captain Jaquemart of the French mau-of-wrtr Viro', No sooner did the news of tbe wreck reach him than he got up steam and started off to see what he could do to relievo the sufferers. Of all the trouble he took, the inconvenience to which he put himself and his ship's company, and the general attention he paid to the wants of the poor people who had been thus inanspleiously landed on the shores of the new country to which they had come, I shall say nothing here, but the following extract from the letter of a correspondent of the ' Otago Guardian ' will give some idea of the kindness they received at the hands of Captain Jaquemart. The ship whs lying outaide the bar of a river over which the passengers were brought to her in the steamers Wanganui and Wallabi. Says the correspondent, after describing the transshipment : — "The Vire, having been employed in the transport of troops, has a spacious 'tween-decks, and here provision had been most extensively made of blankets and bedding, so that the women, and children were no sooner on bo&rdthnu they were sent below, and made comfortable. Cookery on a large scale must have been going on for some time, too, for a good meal, with plenty of meat and half-a-pint of yin ordinaire^ that would have been first-class clarefc in a Dunedin hotel, was served out to all, with tea and medical comforts for those who required them, under the constant attention of a quick, kind, French doctor." The citizens of Dunedin have feted this thoughtful kind hearted captain and have presented him with a handsome testimonial and right well does he deserve it. By the people of all New Zealand, though he may not receive any substantial acknowledgment from them, he will, I am sure, be voted a "regular brick," and if ever it should come to his ears that such a term has been applied to him I hope he will be sufficiently acquainted with the peculiarities of the English language to understand its full import. There is nothing like having a good reputation. It sometimes does duty for many a virtue that a man does not posses, and coverß a multitude of vices from which he is not free. Up to very lately this town of Nelson has been compelled to depend upon candles and kerosene, to lighten its darkness, and consequently it was known as a very poorly lighted town. Now we have plenty of gas, and I dare say those who are not living amongst us suppose that our streets are brilliantly illuminated, that is, it now has fche reputation of being a gas-lit city. But, alas ! it is of the reputation alone that we can boast. When we hatl nothing but kerosene we made the most of it, and the few lamp posts that are scattered at very wide intervals through our streets did bear at least a semblance of a light on a dark night. Now, however, we are too proud to burn kerosene and too poor to use gas, and the consequence is that the streets arß darker than ever they were. It is strange but true that Bince gas has been obtainable the occupation of the man with the ladder is gone. Can anybody say why this is ? F.