THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 265, 7 November 1874, Page 4

THE WEEK.

Coaaeqaent apoQ the correspondence, wcentlx p^bjlialwd by the Evening Mail, between the Provincial Government anda clerk who is well known to •H 'Who dating the last fourteen years haVe had baeinees to transact at the B?sWPt«qdent'B office, there haa daring the week been a qaiet undercurrent of feeling among Provincial politicians of ailehadeii. It tnay be that some ■jftgoftf the. Executive in the action ttiijy^have taken in this matter, but, aa »,niie r - they ; are without doubt con^ deilmctf.^ Not from any personal likes or^wTikes^hat may be entertained so mtich is fro^an nncomlortable suspictjpothatan act of gross injustice haa been perpetrated upon a public serrwfc! ; Oar civil service, whether ander — the ' General or Provincial Government is 1 one in the honor, in**&sl'2a ? Dd h^,g^ character of those wio^fiad^empioyment in' \t f every indrvidaai is more or less interested. To degrade and lower iniheir owjb estima-. tioT'srid in that of the poblio 6tfe ™¥»MXl ".Bw M ■% most dangerous proecftdio&ijbat. this is what has been attempted tot be done, in Nelson. A *■ iiRI* 1 * but ." no attempt is made tq^prove the correctness of the charges, md So opportanity is allowed JfejPß^fWi.W^elf,.,. And yet tts w^yeTfimdnt»; r, sappnae, expect to get good and faithful servants. But then, it may be asked, how can this be? How can the £xecntive^-no matter how little regard they may have for tbe^oelings of those, under them, or for tin general character of the service— how can' they play tiieae pranks when then, is an elected head of the province, wbbtePboajness it is to " saperintend " id#^Sl;7 The qaestion may well be asked, bat' the reply. is difficult to find. There was a time when we had a Ssperiatendent who hesitated not, when hedifiered from the Provincial Council, to oall a meeting of the electors at which ha bearded bis opponents, and insisied upon having his own way. There ifH time when we have a SaperintemJdntirbo meekly acknowledges tbat all he has to do is to obey the behests oJarthe&Frovinetal Secretary, to sign doddowntsof the contents of which he entirely and to sanction thej^difmiffsal^ of officers of uwellknown ability, of proved integrity, and ofijdtfg experience and intimate acqwdptapce with the duties of their office.** It really is difficult to believe that the Superintendent who defied the Prorioeiai Council, and the Superintendent who bends his neck to Mr CConor'e yokeare one and the same m^Vj The. same, and yet how di^sfest ! Where is his spirit, where his determination ? The PBonje r o| this province lament hti apjihy and tame sdbmission to those ovecwhom he should at least exercise ■one control ; the people of other provinces sneer at him, and through him at t*, J^ejseems, tohave fqrgotten that at the recent election for the Superintendency be was placed at the top of the poll for the* v 6srj>re*B purpose of keeping out Mr O'€onor, Tot one of his first actions was to hand over the the first fiddle to th^rgectod one, and himself to take up thfjepond^ or third, or jfourtb, or rather to picl^^ the, first dumb instrument thai came to his hand,' and with it to make » aSow- ! of iak?ng jiart in the band by which the province is governed, whereas, in reality, it is ft matter of no moment whatever wbej^ber he appears on the ita^e or oot. Popular opinion is divided -upon rjecent events. On the one hand, there is indignation with the ag^resei^e acuvity of the Executive ; °^-J^ o^lef^^ontempt: for the pusillsoittioas pasaifenees of the; Superiotendent. Through all/ this, however, wtnißiltt One real soarce of comfort. Sir 06orge Grey says that the "provioeial system is a perfect success." Bat what say the people of kelson ? To hear the most perfect and best gnfphediTpiaad in »the wbrld played on by tike best pianist in the world, was 1 a UmsiX?m scarcely to be expected in^elspq, put it ia one that we have hadioCsred id us,- and of which a large per centage of. the population have •viJl^'kn^njelv'eß. How the hands of •ny nan, w.oman, or child could move with such marvellous rapidity f and at the sam^iffli^with sue% wonderfal precisiod waji^ mV a perfect myatery, and mast have been so to all who ware in a positiono to witness -the astoundiog feat, TbeiAmUe I heard made use of by one whg^ patching those two little haa^Mweepiiig from one end of the ioctroment to the other, was not perha^ii %ls«*iicai, but was not altogether in«f proprjate. It reminds me, said be, of the bio story of the Scotch peasant who saw ft coach passing for the first time, cod looked upon it as a race between the bind wheels and the fore ones, sad in bis excitement exclaimed, " Weel dol&'mlckle anesi mnckle anes canna eaieAjff." And so it was with our fo» ! visitor. Fast as the right band night ! moTe, the left was equal to : the oeoation; rapidly as the left hand ■kimioed^over, but always touched the aotei, wh^re necessary, the right one WM no> to be beaten, and as for the fingers— well, no one would be deemed guilty of perjury if ho were to swear most positively that, there were at least fifteen instead of fi?e on each hand, for (bare were times when the piano ap> peMed^b^coVered with fingers. And met «£ assertion w,x>uld seem to be bone out by the sense of bearing, as WflUus by tbtt of sight, ItiiDotauny weeks since we were ootapbupi** o( tie amo.«ntof «rain that was pernetoally falling, and farmers were wwW<Wng wie'4 }l fttijr would be

kble to get on to the land for the pur. »ose of preparing for barley flowing, >at now it is all the other way, and [ardens and fields are parched and 'racked by the unwelcome drought. There will be no hay, Bays one; the bops will be scanty in quantity, and poor in quality bewails another; while 4 third looks forward with gloomy anticipations to the very small number of bushels of oats and wheat per acre that will pass through the threshing i aachine. The cry for rain is raised ! rom one end of the province to the ( ther, and nothing will give, me more I ileasure than to have to record in my < ezt that tbe windows oi heaven have it last been opened, and that the moisture for which the ground is thirsting has fallen upon it in grateful showers. | The district of Stoke has come prominently forward in the establishment < f a Farmers' Club, and in other ways ip\ displaying an interest in the imprpveV ment of the agricultural and paatoral condition of the Waimeas, and Stoke bias succeeded in obtaining nearly all the prizes at tbe late sheep show.. Is were any connection between the two? Jf so, the example 'set by Stoke might I c advantageously followed in other districts, p.