THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 319, 26 September 1874, Page 2

THE WEEK.

There was something saddening and depressing about that Fire Brigade dinner on Thursday night. Outside all was bright and cheerful. The moon shone brilliantly on the crowds that had assembled to see the prooession; helmets, bayonets, and scarlet coats flashed iu the torchlight; merry were the stratus of the band, and all was mirth and gaiety. Inside the Hall there was laughter, song, and music; the plate and. glass looked bright and. dazzling under the clear gaslight; the meats and drinks were comforting and cheering, the speeches were well prepared aod well delivered; tbe cheers were loud and frequent, and the laughter,pleasant to listen to. But, with all this, I (eft that Hall, as I said before, saddened and depressed. What. then was it that caused- this unpleasant sensation, il will be asked, and in reply I must state that it was that ominous speech of the Superintendent. He was not quite sure that his end was approaching — we all of us cling more fondly to life as our dying hour approaches — but he had an uncomfortable feeling tbat he might be making his last dying speech and confession. And a member of the Executive followed, and plaintively expressed tbe hope tbat if he too was to shuffle off the Provincial coil, it might be said of him tbat be had done his duty, and a member of the Provincial Council got up after him and pleaded for a small extension of life, aod promised that if the great executioner would only let him aod his brethren live a little longer tbey would do much that was good and nothing that was evil for tbeir fellow men, and altogether it was one of the moat pathetic scenes I have wi tnessed for a long time. Said the Superintendent, I don't think I am going to die yet in spite of the attempts that may be made to take my life; said tbe Executive Councillor, I really don't much care whether my end is coming or not, for ray life has been a burden, to me of late; said the Provincial Councillor, I don't want to die, I would much rather live, but I very much fear that the fiat has gone forth, and that lam doomed. Much as I desire to remain in my present sphere, I cannot ignore tbe fact that those who are to be my judges have already passed sentence. Was there something prophetic in all this, and was the merry meeting of Thursday night the first occasion on which the knell, which I, some few weeks ago, predicted would, sooner or later, be surely wafted across the Strait3, was sounded in our ears? No wooder I was melancholy and low spirited when I rose from my seat in the festive chamber. Did similar thoughts occur to any others of those who were present? In addition to the fierce fires tbat bave destroyed their buildings, the Aucklanders have occasionally had to put up with a pretty good roasting from the press in other parts of the colony, for the frequency of the conflagrations that have destroyed so much property in their town, and for their negligence in failing to provide proper appliances for extinguishing them, but they never yet. were; : exposed to such, cutting sarcasm as was contained in tha Governor's speech the other night. Being fearful of involving the proprietors of this journal in an action for libel,.and, perhaps, of Intting them in for $ farthing damages, I do not care to put into words the only possible interpretation of which his Excellency's speech is capable, but, as he spoke pretty ' plainly, an interpreter i_ scarcely needed, for none who heard, or have read, what he said can f_ il to understand what was in his mind at. the time. Token in connection with hia previous remark, tipott Auckland fires there is a world of, meaai^lia his ironical advice to the Nelson 'Brigade : IT -" ; If at' any time the- building trade should sink in to-top, low a state of despondency, you can easily alter your arrangements so as ; to satisfy' all reasonable expectations." If our Auckland neighbors are not too, obtuse they, will find something to ponder over in his Es;- ; cellency'B after-dinner speech. We have soiue seven or eight Insurance 'offices' in Nelson, and it must 'have been extremely gratifying to the members .of the, , FiVe, Brigade, to observe that their existence was recognised on Thursday night ■ hy at least two of these. The fact that fcq large a proportion of the ageqte*— about one-fourth — took the opportunity , of paying the Brigade the compliment of being pr .set. t on that occasion affords a very clear propf that the .service* of" that volunteer body are duly appreciated by the ' companies * that are year after year indebted to it for saving then) .frpm -*„ losses, to tlie tub* _of thonsands upon "thousands, of pounds. I can remember the timo when it was remarked that. pot one of those agents was to be found at the alnnu . l gathering; but an improvement is 1 no -v noticeable in this respect,, for, das I said before, then? were acU_ally L t#o of them present on Thursday. Prdbabk, if between now and this time twelve months, some of ttte wealthiest of them Shall have had. reason: to. .otve.'itplate;themselves upon a few additional thousands having been, saved jyto;/ .hem- by the exertions of the Brigade,, we shall be able to count thrqe, or four, at the next dinner. *..:'-'.' . ',*• dd'; d,," '.'."'.'-' , Tne telegraph "is" a woni_6fful .invention. This is not intended to be look_d Upon as ah original idea, indeed, Isidmit that I have frequently heard it before, but'& a. e?.c)f(kkti- h \%fo 'Vii'&in_ from me . q^n| fading * t^o pieces of information illwt have recently appeared Mn tho newspapers.: Oue was that the

news of a race had been telegraphed from London to Melbourne in seven hours, that is, at the rate of about 2000 miles an hour; and tbe other that tbey are about to establish a Piggery and , Marine store in Dunedin. Now, had it not been for the telegraph we should certainly have remained in a state of ignorance in Nelson of this all important fact, for I am sure that no editor or sub-editor would have thought it worthy of being clipped from the local papers, but as we are connected by wire with Dunedin, and as telegraphic messages cost money, newspaper readers in this part, and probably all over the colony, have had an opportunity of learning that it is in contemr plation to start such an establishment in the far south. A wonderful invention indeed is the telegraph, but scarcely lesa wonderful and incomprehensible are the agents who are employed in selecting items of news for transmission by it. F. {For remainder of News see fourth page.)