THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 259, 31 October 1874, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Sir. George Grey is being rather roughly handled by the press throughout the colony fur Uis attempt to uphold the totteriffg Provincial Institutions. He has raised a storm that will continue to rnge for force- time, but Sir George is not easily daiinteJ, and may be depended upon to do battle lor the cause hd has taken up. It will be seen that be is already in the fidd again with new proposals, and we may: look upon this as a propf that he hn& not come before the public wilh a view of retreating Hg«i.n ht once, but that lie is determined to tight to the bitter end, und to do oil that is in his power to rescue his darling from the Hods that are threatening to tear it to peices. Fight as you may. Sir George, the lions will beet you in the end; you may possibly succeed in snatching thrir prey from their grapp and nestling it to your bosom for perhaps one more year, hut fts doom has been pronounced, and not even you with all your prestige, or all your ability cap prove its saviour. The clause in the Public Works and Jmmigraliou Act which refers to the costs in such a case as that brpught f.o a close yesterday before Judge Richmond ig the most* curious that ever came fr'ooi a bill drafter's hands. If I remember rlghtty, I have before this remarked upon it io connec-

tion with a suit, in which Mr White,, of Spring Grove, was the claimant, but Mr Stafford's is even more glaring. To the flrat place, it tells as that if the award ia greater than vibe amount offered by the Government, the claimant 1 shall not be called upon to pay the costs of arbitration, and it then goes on to say that if the award is less by onesixth of the total amount claimed, he shall-pay, them. Let me illustrate the position. ' Suppose A claims £600 for damape done to bis property by a railway, and the Government agent says, "No, that is on excessive charge, we will give you only £150,: and A goes to arbitration, and is awarded £499, he must pay the costs of the hearing, even though it is decided that the Government bad offered him £349 less than he was entitled to, but, if he should obtaio £500 03. 6J. the Government would be saddled with the costs, because, the award is not one-sixth less than the {demand. In Mr Stafford's case the claimant is awarded several hundred pounds over and above what ,ha was (For continuation see fourth page )

offered, but as he does not receive fivesixths of tha amount claimed, there is a doubt upon whom the costs are to fall. Hoir the claose in question has resumed unrepealed so long is a mystery ihtft is not easy of solution, as it must ere this have given an immense amount of dissatisfaction in varioaa'parto of the colony. I, wonder what are the impressions, | formed prior to sailing from England, i of< tbe immigrants who are now pouring into New Zealand with regard to tbe country to which they are migrating. I .chanced to ride down to the port in tbe railway bos on the day on which the Chile immigrants were landed. A young man and woman were standing oo^iheload close to oar baiting place, wbeb the latter exclaimed in tones of detaht aa we drew 0p, , " Why, bless m Ssi» ere •«»'* a tramway," then, readJDg toe name on the side of tbe V6hiete, " City Bus! Lor, now who'd haftf'^bought 1 of seeing the likes of thw'ooi here '?** Did she and her companions experience any sense of eurprjae, not to say disappointment, at not fin,3tag ns all dad in blankets, and displaying artistically tattooed faces ? Apropos of < oar new importations, I f oppose ,it ie desirable that ail and evary> kind of industry should have iu aj representative 'on board an emigrant ship, but does it pay to import organ .grinders at £20 a head? Oildonrse ifc is a rare treat to listen to th* strains of the old familiar instrument*- as they io\\ forth their melodious notes in' oar streets, bat luxuries of this kind may: be paid for too dearly. Young Skellie" recently notified that he wonld ran ten miles in an hour. He did it in one boar, twenty-five seconds. That was smart work, but I think I can record an instance of a feat atm more remarkable having been perform^. Last M«y I shook hands on^tbecjrbarf with one of our townsmen who was about leaving for England, and, An bidding him farewell, I asked w fe%F«Q we to, see him back again. Takieg from his pocket a card containing the time table of the English mails, he replied, "In five months and three day^rflball be in New Zealand again." He was at fault,. for be was away five months and a week. Still, considering thd finis tor of miles he travelled in tbe tinfc,! think he beat " Young Skellie." Jf I were a married man with a big Um\f of little children, I don't tbiok Istoold select Charleston as a residence..^New Zealand, it ia said, is a &am<Wßßtry for the poor man, but I think that, unless 7 we specially exclude Charleston, jhis statement can scarcely be correct. I see by the local papers that meat was recently charged for. ithere a,t the rate of one shilling per pound, and bread balf-a-crown for the four pound loaf. Even poor men like their and bread, bo I am afraid I mast say to those of them who chance to read these lines, 'Ware Charleston. There are a good many old Indians injtbta province of Nelson who have only too sad reasons for remembering that awful massacre at Cawnpore in 1857. There are some among my own acqaajotanees here, many of whose friends and relations were foully murdered and- thrown into that fatal well 1 of which we have all read. rea^.' 11»ey can call to their recollection the kindly faces of elderly women andithe'fair forma of young girls whom tbe^fiad known in their youth, who, on that fearful day, were tortured and slaughtered in- obedience to the com* mand* of that heartless fiend Nan A SaSib. ; What' will be their feelings on learnjng tbat_ tbia bloodthirsty villain has)?eep captured ? For his sake let as hope that among big judges there wiH'-bie fdurid none of those who, even afteV this fing interval of seventeen ye^HrJßan. scarcely curb their feelings, as, before their mind's eye, there pass tbe%ti#e£and forms of some of the many victims. of his treachery and ferocttj.-' v p» #