THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 156, 29 June 1878, Page 2

THE WEEK.

The two most important political events of the last few days have been the sittings of the Congress at Berlin and the great Maori meeting at Waitara. The former having only trivial matters to discuss will probably be brought to;a termination, or toau adjournment, in the course of a day or two; the latter seems likely to be prolonged for a considerable time. It is true that we have received telegrams daily telling us that the meeting was to close next day, and next day, and so on, bnt those who thus predict the end do not appear to me to have gone to the root of the matter. I think that I can say with far greater correctness— and give my reasons too for the conclusion at which I have arrived-when this great Maori meeting is to disperse than the correspondents who have been telegraphing their opinions for the last six or seven days. My idea ia that it will last 28 days, and this conclusion is based upon deep and thonghtf ul calculations. The telegrams above aliuded to haye announced on different occasions that some 80 cartloads of provisions in all have been conveyed to the spot selected for' the meeting. Supposing each of these carts to contain threequarters of a ton, we find that there are 60 tons of «• kaikai " to get through, so that the 500 natives present have each of them to consume about 2£ cwt of grub— to avoid tautology I use alternately Maori and English words to express the same meaning. When a Maori really gives his mind to it he can put away a tremendous lot of food, so, partly upon this ground and partly for the sake of simplifying the calculation, I allow each man lOlbs a day, or 28 days to dispose of 280lbs. lam anxious to see to what extent my calculations will prove correct. Tomkins is a great admirer of the system of credit, and as regularly as the fourth of the month comes round he is sure to have at least one hill that he is desirous of renewing. On the last " fourth," however, he was pulled up short and told by the manager of the Bank of which he is a clieut that he must pay up at once. To do so he was unable, aud financially speaking it might be said that he then received his death blow. He went to the Institute entertainment last Wednesday night, and just after the last recitation I met him pushing his way out of the Hall in a most excited manner acd with the tears streaming from his eyes. On my asking him the cause of this ebullition of feeling he replied " I did'nt think there was a hanker in existence who could administer the coup de grace to an unfortunate victim in so pathetic and feeling a manner as did Virginius up there just now. Why, oh why, did the manager of the institution that I until lately patronised dispose of me in the same way? Then indeed could I have borne the blow with fortitude even if I did not bless the arm thai inflicted it. Never before did I believe that in a banker's breast there could beat a soft and sympathetic heart!" Here bis feelings completely overcane him, and pressing my hand hurriedly he left me and the Provincial Hall behind him, and the last I saw of him he was steering straight for the Provincial Hotel. lam not aware whether the same view presented itself to others that night, but this I cau say that there were many moist eyes in my neighborhood as the father bade farewell to his little daughter, and buried the knife in her side, " and with one sob she died." The Blenheim papers are fortunate in having a correspondent out Wakamarina way who possesses the art of putting things in a flowery, lmay almost say poetical, sort of

way. This gentleman had recently been I cruising about on the diggings; had found j the roads as beastly, muddy and the rivers as awkwardly high as they usually are at this time of the year, and this is how he conveyed the not unexpected information to his readers]—" Old wintet is again amongst us, as usual he has made his appearance, robed in clouds of nimble pattern, and now under the tread of his heavy feet, we see our roads turning into dykes of mud, while the drip of his garments is making the swollen rivers unpleasant or even dangerous to cross, and now we look back to the long fine days which have flown past, and perceive with regret how very little has been done, to prepare for the stay of the rough but punctual visitor." This is all very pretty, but I should like just by way of contrast to hear some sturdy digger, who with a heavy swag on his back had waded through a few miles of the mud and water spoken of above, give his version of the state of the roads and rivers in his own language. I fancy there would be more prose thau poetry in his declamation. It has been said that Providence tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. This is a pleasant and a comforting creed, and one that is shared in by thousands and millions of my fellow creatures. There are some people, however, who affect to believe in another 1 dispensation of Providence, not in connection with the lamb bnt the rat. They will, for instance, when a fire has unaccountably occurred, tell you with the utmost gravity that Providence took especial care to put a lot of matches in the' room or rooms where the flames first broke out, and then despatched one or more rats to gnaw them until tlie friction of their teeth produced fire. Now, for my part, I have no faith in these rats, and when they are talked about my thoughts always run moie inthe direction Of handcuffs and leg irons than of gins and fat traps'. p.