THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 65, 16 March 1878, Page 2

THE WEEK.

I There has been a shaking of the dry bones in tbis peaceful -valley of Nelson during the last -week or ten days, and considerable excitement has taken the place of the quiet which usually reigns iv our midst. On what has raised the storm I do not now care to d.yell, nor under the circumstances would it be right to do so at the present moment. A word of warning to the parents of young girls may not, however, be out of place. By the bitter experience of others who, like yourselves, were wholly unaware of what was taking place, your eyes have beeu opened to a terrible evil, of the existence of which iv our midst uone of us ever dreamed. Against this you cannot be too strictly on your guard now that you know of the snares 1 that haye been, and may yet be, spread by

unprincipled scoundrels for the ruiu of your little ones. Having received the warning, see that you do not neglect it. Hitherto I had been uuder the impression that no more severe calamity could happen to a man than to be deaf, dumb, and blind. I am not so sure about it now, however, but am rather inclined to believe that there are times when to be bereft of hearing, speec t, and sight might be regarded as a blessing rather thau an affliction. For this reason. It seems that if you should happen to be a witness of some scene which results in a Court case, and you arc called upon to give evidence as to what you saw, you may then be handed over to a lawyer, who claims the right to question you upon the innermost secrets of your heart, to force you to give a reason for any particular course of life you may have cboseii to adopt, and to insist upon your proclaiming to a jeering ci'owd any mental or physical infirmity from which you may be sufferiug. If this sort of thing is to be tolerated, it will scarcely be safe to leave tbc gospel of peace, on which a witness is , sworn, withiu his reach, as it might, in the absence of any other missile, be hurled by the victim, if he should happen to be a hottempered mau, at the head of the inquisitor. The Bench would theu have to decide the very pretty question whether or not the assault was to be excused on account of the provocation offered. It is a very dangerous power wherewith a lawyer is iuvested, and public opinion cannot too stoutly maintain that ho should use it with extreme caution and discretion. Sir George Grey has beeu placed iv a very unpleasant positiou by the slightly lawless conduct of his late hosts in the Kiug country. It will., be remembered that not very long ago the newspapers were inundated with telegrams descriptive of the hobnobbing together of the head of Her Majesty's Government iv New Zealand and his sable Majesty King Tawhiao. All sorts of ridiculous ceremonies were gone through ; there were rubbings of uoses, and tangis, diplomatic conferences, and heaven knows what other mummeries, and then, to crown all, there wa3 a great feast, at which the Maori King and the members of his Court displayed unbounded hospitality to their distinguished guests. But, alas, it now appears that the royal personage, into whose good graces the Premier was endeavoring to wheedle himself, was playing a cruel trick upon the representative of the New Zealand Government. These Maoris are cunning fellows, and have some slight smattering of our laws, and it is not at all unlikely that tbe dusky sovereign had heard that iv the eye of the law the receiver of stolen goods, if aware that they are stolen, is equally culpable with tbe thief himself. Probably, in his eagerness to incilpate Sir George, he overlooked the necessary condition of knowledge of the facts, and thought that it was only necessary to get bim to partake of stolen goods to place him within reach of the law. So the old fellow sent out a chosen baud of warriors to steal a mob of cattle from a neighboring pakeba's run, and on the meat thus obtained he feasted Sir George Grey and his suite, and, no doubt, now that he knows it is all found out, he is chuckling over the trick he played his guest. The surprising part of the affair, however, is that Douglas Walker, whoever he may be, whose beef Sir George had unwittingly eaten, is not satisfied with the knowledge that bits of his bullocks had the honor of going down the Premier's thro:it,buthe wants to be paid forhis beef, and so the c is uo end of a row arising out of this much talked of visit to "the King," which was to bring about a peaceful solution of the native. But, whatever may bo the upshot, it is clear lhat tbe interview between the two great men is deprived of much of its eclat by the fact tbat upon the adjournment from labor to refreshment they solemnly sat down to discuss stolen beef. Sir George will havo to be more careful, wheu he visits His Maori Majesty again next month, to enquire who is his host's butcher, and whether tbe beef he is eatiug has beeu previously paid for. People iv all directions were wondering the other day how it was tbat the aspect, of affairs in the East so suddenly became more pacific, aud that the Russians were all at once more hment in the demands they made from their conquered foe. I was one of those who could not understand it at all, until a light Hashed across me wheu looking over some Australian papers. In oue of tbese I found the following paragraph: — "Duriug the last month, in spite of the nonpassing of the Forts and Armaments Bill and the Appropriate i Bill, Mr Berry has expended cousiderable sums in the purchase of war stores and the manufacture of torpedoes. The Cerberus has been recruited to her full complement of crew and men. All the available cannon have been forwarded to Queenscliff. This morning, cor sequent upon tbe war news, Mr Berry summoned all the chief military authorities in town to consult with him as to tbe steps it will be necessary to take." So much for Victoria. Then with i regard to New South Wales, I read in a Sydney newspaper : — " The permanent artillery, which numbers 300 men, will leave the j barracks to man the batteries, and will rej main on active duty until the alarm of any I further European complicatious had subsided." Now I could see it all at a glance. It had been wired to tbe Czar that warlike | preparations were being actively made in Melbourne and Sydney, aud that he had better look out for the consequences. The result at once showed itself in the more moderate one the assumed towards the fallen Turkey. p.