THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 151, 27 June 1874, Page 2

THE WEEK.

I have the satisfaction of knowing that for at least thirteen weeks from this date I shall, every Saturday, be supplied with a text for, at all events, one paragraph of my weekly notes, for, during that period, (he General Assembly will be in 3e3sioo, and, if four days* Parliamentary telegrams do not furnish a theme for half a column of comment, one of the characteristics of our legislators must have undergone a vast change since this time last year. There are all sorts of prophecies about the coming session. Prophet No. 1 says it will be on extraordinarily long session ; Prophet No. 2 predicts an unusually short session; Prophet No. 3 tells me and others that it will be a very important session; Prophet No. 4 insists upon it that it will be a very unimportant session, by which, I presume, he means that not more than eighty or ninety Acts will be added to the Statute Book: and Prophet No. 5 alleges that all the rest are wrong, and that nobody but himself knows what will be done. He thinks it best, however, to preserve an air of mystery, and is reserving himself until all is over, when he will come forward in a most dignified manner, and assure us that he had told us so all along, but that none of us would believe him. And some people will regard him as a modern Isaiah or Ezekiel. It is astonishing when you can look into it, how easy it is to achieve a reputation.

What are our Nelson representatives going to do? Do they mean to go to Wellington early, pick out comfortable seals in various parta of tho House apart from one another, hold no communication wilh each other, and, when any question affecting the prosperity of the province comes on for discussion, vote in opposite directions, or cause their names to be posted on the doors of the Legislative Chamber as having paired? Our numhers are small, but it is surprising what a determined little plia'anx, with their mioda previously made up as to the direction in which they will make their charge, can do. But if the same individuals appear upon the battle-field without previoue drilling, and not quite sure who are their enemies and who their friends, it is quite possible that they may inflict some nasty wounds upon each other, and so diminish the strength of the army that their employers have sent out to fight their battlea for them. Of this, however, I am quite sure, that the Nelson constituencies will have no sympathy with trimmers, will listen to no excuse for indecision on the part of their representatives. Nelson int rests must be advocated, Nelson's welfare be the be-all and end-nil of our members' political existence whether they hold seats in the upper or lower house. Should the latter fail us in our hour of need, we can politely request them to make room for men who are not halfhearted in the cause we wish them to espouse ; should the former be found arrayed against us, we can, even when they are breathing the sacred air of the Legislative Council Chamber, make their softly cushioned seats very uncomfortable for them. Now or never. If Nelson is not to collapse, she must be up and stirring; if she is to sink out of sight altogether, the sooner we know it the better. Let Us have money to go ahead and so make a good start, and we will not be behind any of the other provinces at the time the winning post is reached, but if we are to be too heavily handicapped, -we may as well be scratched at once, and remain in the stable eating our heads off, as the phrase goes. It will be interesting to see the reception our representatives meet with on their return from Wellington. I wouldn't mind being one of them if our Loan Bill is passed, but, if it is thrown out, well> I would rather not.

Two companies iu Nelson at one time havo given the townfolk plenty of opportunity of amusing themselves during the winter eveniags. One of them I Bee includes a gentleman who commenced singing local songs containing hits at the personal appearance of some of the Nelsou residents, but who was sensible enough and displayed sufficiently good taste not to repeat the performance wheu it was hinted to him that the entertainment was better without it. Those local songs as a rule are highly objectionable and altogether unwarrantable. If my eyes are not on good terms with one another but look in opposite directions, I didn't see why I should be reminded of it from the stage of a theatre. It is painfully patent to me when I look in the glass every morning and it does not moke my infirmity ersier to bear that it is Bung to me before several hundred persons that I have a squint. It makes others laugh perhaps, but have I not a right to expect that my feelings too shall be considered? F,