THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 147, 23 June 1877, Page 2

THE WEEK.

The Government must surely be very hard up for money, since, as a last resort for raising the wind, they have adopted one of the most cunningly devised plans ever heard of Several years ago -I forget just now the exact number— a Stamp Act was passed, and instructions have now been forwarded to the various Registrars to the effect thatalldocumentssuchas receipts and the like iu all estates of deceased persons that have come before the Court since the passing of the Act must be produced in order to show that they have been duly stamped/and in the event of their not bearing this evidence of compliance with the Act, the money ia, if to be squeezed out of. the executors or anybody else from whom there is a possibility of procuring it. When it is considered what an immense amount of labor and annoyance it would involve to carry such a plan into execution one cannot arrive at any other conclusion thau that hardtimes, very hard times, must, have come upon the Government that proposes it. I find that my having accepted the responsibility of giving publicity to a remonstrance against loug. sermons has afforded an opportunity to some person 'unknown, who evidently entertairis a feeling of personal animosity towards - me, to give Tent to hia ; spleen, and this opportunity he has readily, availed himself of. If we may judge bf his character and disposition by the tone of his letter, and are to presume that they have been formed by the long sermons for which he professes to entertain so warm an affection, I think it willi be allowed that in his own person he furnishes an excellent proof of the wisdom of the suggestion which has been made that these discourse might be abbreviated with advantage. lam sorry the personal element has been introduced, because I. should have preferred to see the question at issue argued on its ' merits, and regardless of the individuality of- 'those who might appear as advocates either on one side or the other. It seems 3trange that even on such a topic as this a writer cannot make suggestions without bringing down upon his unfortunate head a shower of personal abuse: I trust that " Looker ou" when he saw his tangled production in print was satisfied with the spirit of charity that displayed itself iu every line. There ia but one portionthat calls for notice at my- hands. It is the closing' sentence, wherein he says:—'* By the by is not "F." an office-bearer in his church. If so, I would ask with all becoming deference if it would not have been more consonant with etiquette, to say nothing of brotherly .. love, to have spoken to his minister privately than thus offer a wanton _insult to him publicly." To this •«F.'s»- reply % that he is not an office-bearer in his church; that he has; not offered a wanton insult, or anything that can be construed as such, to his ministerand tha't he has derived very much /amuse- , ment from seeing, a reference : to. -brotherly - love in aucH'aletter as that which bears' the ' signature *' Looker on;" ' --• _

> It is. annoy ing to find on strolling round .your well-kept garden- in the morning that astray. horse : has^ wandered in i during the night and rolled on your flower-beds; -it is aggravating , to make the discovery that a- , cow, Has'eiiterea your kitchen garden and uiade a repast 'on your 1 cauliflowers; ';t.s exasperating to notice the tracks of goals 'in your orchard.iind to observe/that. the young and tender shoots of the fruit, trees on which you so pride yourself have been carefully nipped off by those' wretched '.tittle animals. ? But none of these trials of temper are : to be" - qpnjpared with that to which J was subjected while sitting.cosily at breakfast this morning : , The postman's knock, always welcome except at the beginning of the quarter, just after the tradesmen have made up their books, was followed by a neat little envelope, addressed" in the prettiest of lady's hand: writings to "F," being placed before me. I opened it hurriedly aud curiously, I readit impatiently, but before 1 reached the end of.it I threw it on the floor in the greatest disgust. Bo you ask why? I will tell you. If commepced with the custon^ry flattering phrases used by., people .who want to get their seribblings !into print, and went on to say that the fair correspondent on reading the reports of the late -raid made by the police upon goats had been moyed by' the spirit of poetry to try her hand at composing a few stanzas, which she kindly informed me might be set to the well-known air " ZJomin' through :the .Rye.',' ;Of these stanzas there were no le3s than nineteen,' but • the two first were quite enough for me, and I think they will be. so for my readers.; This. is how they ran: — If a Bobby find a Nanny Tethered in the street; : . . ■ , If that Bobby pouud that Nanny Should that Nanny bleat? ° If the owner of tbat Nanny^ Get fined half-a-crown, ' Sbould that owner of that Nanny Grumble, growl, aud frown? After this, confident of what the reply must inevitably be, I ask, has any injured garden or orchard owner suffered half as much as I have from the goat nuisance? The untidy state of the grounds in front of the Government Buildings, where the gravel is gradually being concealed by weeds must have attracted the notice of everyone who has occasion to visit that part of the town. One of the Ministers, who recently passed through Nelson, is reported to have been much affected at the sight, and to have I

expressed himself as being.gfeatly shocked . ' that the; grave . of ; Proviriciabsm in Nelson^' ? should jjurjve been so neglected by jthe f r ienels of N thejdeceased. All very weil, : MrMioister,Mbut after all it is biife a jqtiestibnjof \ounds.f sbilpeUJfe/T Who's;! j£ . .pay\fctMhe-* Ceding? That^the questibtr^ottvotfghlto v have settled before leaving Nelson. About this time of the year there are two annual reports that are always looked for with some degree of curiosity and interest. One is that of the luspectorof Schools, the (btfier, mine orl^the quality, flavor, and genjeral *■ condition, of, .the game killed .dunngjj,h_. "i season. The former, no doubt, will soon make its appearance, but the latter at present stands a faicchance. of. being indefinitely. - postponed, as the materials required for its preparation have not yet come to hand. ' Sportsmen will, perhaps, take note of this. rr _ r .. ... _„„ .... ,__g.