THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 14, 15 January 1876, Page 2

THE WE EK.

'* It's all very well to ask a fellow to dinner, that's easily done, but if you don't give him something decent to eat you had better have omitted your invitation 1 altogether." So said a country friend of mine to me once, he being at the time in anything but an amiable frame of mind, in consequence of having been asked to dine with a neighboring runholder, who set before him nothing but cold mutton and heavy bread. lam afraid that I shall to-day be giving cause to some of my readers for a growl of a somewhat similar nature. The words "The Week" 'constitute my invitation to them to sit down and listen to what I have to say regarding the events that have occurred since last Saturday, and yet while 1 write them I am quite conscious that I have nothing whatever to talk about, for the simple reason that not a single event such as I like to comment upon has taken place during that period. I haven't even the cold mutton and bad bread to offer them, nothing but a heap of dry bones. But I must see if I can make any sort of a dish out of them, and if I fail — well, it will not be the first, though I hope it may be the last time. The elections have been following j closely one upon the other of late, and ] but a few now remain to come off, but | until the new Parliament meets I j think the result will scarcely be known. J I see in the papers long lists of new members, some of whom have M,,some 0, and some D opposite their names, these three letters being the initials of ' the words Ministerial, Opposition, and doubtful, but I should like to know upon what authority or basis the representatives have been thus classified. Of course we know who are in favor of abolition, and who of the continuance of provincial institutions, but what cannot be known with any degree of certainty is who are to support and who are to oppose the present Ministry seeing that it all depends upon circumstances regarding which we are at present in a state of ignorance. Let the Government bring down a well digested, carefully prepared, Local G-overnment Bill such as is likely to find popular favor, and they will at once command a good working majority in the House, but should the reverse be the case we shall soon find that no amount of branding the newly elected by the newspapers with the letters M, O, or D will entitle the Ministerialists, Oppositionists, or Doubtfulists to claim them as their own. So that when you see these lists in the newspapers you may just take them for what you think they are worth. The town of Nelson seems to have made up its mind to endeavor to make up for what the province has lost in the racing-on-land line by getting up some considerable enthusiasm in favor of racing on the water, and the two clubs that are rapidly being formed are likely in each instance to prove a success. "What a pity," said some croaker to me the other day, " that they are going in for two clubs. How much, better it would have been to have only one." Now with such a feeling I have no sympathy whatever. Two clubs will engender a spirit of friendly rivalry that will spur both on j to do their very best, and when each i has brought to the front a crew which the other knows it will take all it can do to beat, then Nelson will have a good team from which to select its representatives in any interprovincial contest. Let them contest one against the other as strongly as they please on our own waters, but when they have to go elsewhere to uphold the credit of the town, then let them amalgamate. That is my idea of what should be the result of two boating clubs in Nelson. I think I have learned the way to thoroughly enjoy a glass of Nelson beer. I was at the wharf yesterday when the Caroline came alongside, and being anxious to learn the manners and customs of the new additions to our population I followed a small troop of them into a public house. Evidently the anticipations of a good long draught of beer such as had not passed their lips for three long months were exceedingly pleasant, and lips were smacked and mouths watered as eaoh ordered his pint. The bright liquid was not long in reaching its destination. " Bedad that's foine. I say^ Mister, let's have another." " Danged if that don't go down well — here, guvnor, fill up again." These and other equally curt but expressive exclamations had their influence on me, and J thought I would try if J could not obtain the same amount of enjoyment from a similar source. But it was of no use — and I bad to admit that if I wanted to dispose of a pint of Nelson beer with as much relish as my newly-landed iriends, I must, like them, go a longtime without it. In this respeGt beer is like speechify,ing at election-times— *the more you get of it the less you like it. [ Anything that tends to prove the wealth of the colony and the elasticity of its spending power is always acceptable to me. It is, therefore, with no little delight that I observe the frequency of the' arrivals at Auckland of the boats that are in some way or other connected with the San Francisco mail service. First, we have the Coliraa turning up in a desultory sort of mani ncr, then the Mikado and the City of San Francisco arriving within a few hours of each other, one with the mail and -the other ready to pick up 'any stray letters that might Jiave been blown overboarcf from jts predecessor, and this, week tlbe Oyph_reni9s has put in. aq appearance from spmewher.@ ? it dpesn'j; matter much whence or why. lam, 'pfc §9 well acquainted, as perhaps J

should be with the intricacies of this manifold service, but I can scarcely think that these big boats are running , about-and treading on one another's heels in this promiscuous way just for the fun of the thing. I suppose somebody is paying for their eccentricities, and that that somebody is the New Zealand Government. And not a bad thing either, for in order to provide the necessary funds for this purpose we shall be driven to " develop our resources," , and, as that is a favorite theory, in Nelson particularly, (vide our politicians* speeches and newspaper articles for several years past) it is satisfactory to know that we are rapidly approaching its realisation. F.