The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY. MARCH 6, 1876.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 63, 6 March 1876, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY. MARCH 6, 1876.

A number of people collected on the wharf this morning to see tbe Ladybird off. Among her passengers were J)r and Mrs Renwick and two or three others who are to sail from "Wellington for England to-morrow by the Avalanche. We have seen a great many complaints in the Westport papers of late regarding the scarcity of work there, and statements that laborers were want ing to leave the place. In the face of this the Wallace took a number of navvies for that port this morning, they being engaged on Brogden's contract on the Mount Rochfort railway. We notice by advertisement that Mr Mabin is expecting a consignment of draught horses from Tasmania, which he will sell by auction on an early date. The Charles Edward will leave for Wanganui to-morrow, taking passengers for the Wanganui races on the 9th and 10th instant, who will be able to return by the Murray, leaving 'Wanganui on the following Monday. A*n* excursion trip will be made by the Lady Barkly on Tuesday, the 13th instant, to Takaka, in order to enable visitora to attend the Clifton Horticultural Show, which is always worth seeing. The fares are fixed at the low rate of £l for return tickets, early application for which it is requested may be made to the agents at the Commercial Wharf. We have to acknowledge the receipt by the San Eranciseo mail of " Mrs M. Q-. Brown's Metaphysical Pamphlet ; a synopsis of metaphysics ; cause, cure, and prevention of disease." The object of the work, which is pretty lengthy, appears to be — for we have not yet had time to peruse it — to prove that the authoress has discovered a panacea for all the ills that flesh is heir to. To our venerable friend " Old Bigo-s " we are indebted for a fine specimen of honey in the comb. The old geutleman does not consider that he has been fairly treated by his bees this year, his stock of honey being at least 2001bs less than last season. The Naval Brigade, under command of Captain Richardson, paid a visit to Motueka yesterday in their boat the Aurora. A start was made from their boat sbed, passing the bell buoy at 7*25 a.m.; at 7'53 the order was "Rowed all; all hands make sail;" as a light laud breeze was then blowing, which, however, did not last long, and at B*2o the sail was taken in, and recourse was once more had to the oars. At 8*55 another puft' of wind came, and the canvas was at once set, but it fell light at 9*30, when the oars were once more put out, arriving off the Motneka bar at 10*45, after a passage of 3 hours 20 minutes, inclusive of stoppages. After a considerable amount of backing and filling, arrived opposite the wharf, the tide theu being too low to go alongside, amid the cheers .of a large crowd on the wharf, which were heartily responded to from the Aurora. A boat, "up.der charge of Mr Jackson, at once put off from the shore, and conveyed all the crew safely to land. The Aurora was then decorated with bunting, and her appearance on the water elicited an expression of satisfaction from every one present. The Brigade then fell in, and marched up to the church, but finding the Bervice nearly over, the men were dismissed. At one p.m. they dined together at the Motueka Hotel, where a capital spread had been provided for them, which was done justice to, the sea air having somewhat, tended to sharpen their appetites. The assembly call was sounded shortly after two o'clock, and the Brigade marched down >to the wharf, when a start was made

homewards at 315 p.m. All sail was set to a fine sea breeze, and the boat bowled along merrily at the rate of eight knots an hour, hut being only the tail end of the sea breeze it did not last long, and died away when the boat was Jour miles from the Boulder Bank, and the oars were put out, arriving ofE the bell buoy at 5*45 p.m., after a passage of two hours and a half. The Artizans' entertainment to he given to-uight promises to be a very successful one, and, it is to be hoped, will be well attended, as the Society are anxious to raise a small fund for increasing their library. Referring to the visit of the Prince of Wales to Benares, the Pioneer Mail has the following: — " A little circumstance which occurred produced a very pleasant impression on the assembled company. Among the ladies present was one of more than ninety years of age, the widow of a general officer who had formerly, some' thirty years ago, commanded the Benares Division ; and since that time the venerable lady, now for more than twenty years a widow, has lived continuously in Benares, where her life, one long career of kind words and charitable deeds, has gained her the respectful love of all. Something of this had reached the ear of the Prince, and he expressed a desire to see her. She rose, and, assisted by friends, moved forAvard to pay her respects ; but the Prince forestalled her by himself meeting her more than half way. He pressed her hand kindly again and again, and whispered words in her ear, which, whatever they were, sent away the dear old lady with her eyes brimful of tears of pride and pleasure." It may interest some of our Nelson readers to learn that the aged widow referred to is the mother of a lady who has resided in this province for the last twenty-five years. She herself has lived in India, without once leaving it, for over seventy years, during which time she has, as may be imagined, seen vast changes. During the Indian mutiny she and her husband, both of them at that time over seventy years of age, had a narrow escape. The compound in which they lived was attacked by a large body of sepoys, who had suddenly mutinied without any previous warning, and they just had time to get into their carriage and drive off at a gallop, a volley beincr fired after them, and one bullet passing through the coachman's turban. But though they escaped with their lives, a terrible blank was created in their family circle hy that fearful Cawnpore massacre, where two of then' married daughters, a son in law, and six grandchildren, two of them girls of eighteen aud twenty, were foully murdered by the monster Nana Sahib. Another grandson, an officer in a native regiment, was murdered during the mutiny, the men entering the diningroom and killing the whole of the officers, with one exception, as they sat at mess. That old lady, from her own experience, could have given to the Prince a vast amount of information regarding his Royal mother's Indian Empire. At a recent meeting of the Thorndon ("Wellington) Liceased Victuallers Association the following letter from the President of the Association at Christchurch was read: — Sir — In view of the House meeting shortly, it behoves us, as the representatives of the licensed victuallers in this colony, to bestir ourselves for the purpose of getting a Bill introduced into the Assembly to do away with -several grievances that at present exist. My reason for writing is this, that I (and my committee) feel that unless combined action be taken, and at once, such power will be brought to bear on the members of the Assembly against any existing laws, or. in fact any new ones which may be contemplated for the relief of ourselves as a body, that united effort on our part is absolutely necessary to prevent even encroachments on our present position. There are two or three matters which require to be embodied in any Bill which may be brought before the House, and which of course suggest themselves to you— old standing grievances. After mature deliberation, the only way which to me seems practicable for our purpose is to convene a meeting of delegates from the varions associations throughout New Zealand, to meet, say at Wellington, during next month, and then and there draft a bill which will, if carried through the House, place us on a good footing with the public, and do away with all the little petty annoyances to which we are at present subjected. I think one member from each association wili be sufficient, and I undertake to have a draft bill ready to bring before the different delegates within a month from date. Combined action is absolutely necessary, and there is no time like the present. I sincerely hope that for the sake of our common good you will see your way clear to cooperate with ine in the endeavor to ameliorate and improve upon the existing laws bearing on our tradeWe (fN. Z. Times) understand that his Excellency the Grovernor has leased Mr Tabor's farm at Karori, as he finds Lowry Bay inconvenient. The G-overn-mpnjt will consequently have the Lowry Bay estate at their disposal, and considering the enhanced yalue of property in that district, should it be decided to sell this property a high price may be counted on. The Dunedin Evening Star of the 26bh instant contains the following bit of political gossip ; — A gentleman who has recently returned to Oamaru from a trip to "Wellington informs the North Otago Times that the latest on dit in the Empire City is that Mr Reynold* will be proposed by the Government for the Speakership of the House, and that, on the condition of the Q-overn-ment supporting Mr O'Borke's nomination for the Chairmanship of CointqiU

tees, the Opposition will support Mr Reynolds' nomination. This, ifc is said, has been arranged.