THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 174, 20 July 1878, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Before another week has passed over our heads the annual session of Parliament will nave commenced, the circumstances being DBtjreJy different to thosd tinder which it was opened last year. Then the Atkinson Government was in power, and to all outward appearances Ministers were securely fixed in their seats for at least another year. They had a majority of nearly a score, and although there were many signs of dissatisfaction in Various pafts Of the colony it was tHdugrit trial it wfauid be irripbasible to oust them from office,- and what, judged by recent events, now seems more curious than any Qther phase, that, the political situation then presented; tfas^he fact that it wa's generally believed that tneir greatest strength lay in their principal opponent's Aveakness. The uare [£*?, of Sir George Grey assuming the reins of Government was regarded »« a sufficient safeguard to those then in power. His actions were regarded as so eccentricj his notions considered so Cfotebettyj that little i nibie thaii tweiveijibnth's ago aftyone wlio would have ventured to' predict liis* ady,'ehl;:to.p; ower Y<ou'ld Kave^ .b^en regarded in the light of a lufJatic. Whist & : change has taken place since then! The large majority of which Major Atkinson was, from one one reason and another, able to boast on the meeting of Parliament last year was by the hesitancy and disposition to temporise displayed by him and his colleagues, and by general mismanagement n£ tile most wretched description ,siiiiere<l Jo dwindle Sway iljiti} to i the surprise of Ministers they found that they were reduced to a minority. Some days elapsed, the House or" uepresentatives, like Israel of old, being during Unit time as sheep without a shepherd, and eventually Sir George was offered and accepted the leadership. Then followed more blundering on the part of the Atkinson party. Although they hiwl ueotl out voted, they still had" a lafg-er following than the Ministry in office, Against whom tlitiy hioved a vote of no confidence; iind .littliough. the}' were §ure of victory, did they bin exercise ordinary care and watchfulness, they suffered themselves to be out-manuiuvred, and once again had to acknowledge themselves defeated. From that day Major At-inson's doom was sealed, and never again will he appear in the political world as a leader among men. To be sure he was never fitted by nature or ability for such a position, but it was forced upon him, and he might have retained it had he known how to do so But he did not. Since then we all kuow what has happened. Despised by many as a leader of the Opposition this time last year, Sir George Grey is now regarded from one end of the colony to the other almost as a demigod. He has travelled far and near throughout New Zealand sowing his views broadcast, and there can be ho dpiibt vfhateVer that the session is to prove his harvest time, when he will reap the fruits of his labors iv the skupo of a majority perhaps more powerful than that arrayed against him last year. And we may depend upon it that, able tactician as he is, he will not allow his power to slip away from him as did bis predecessor. Fighting there may, and probably will, be during the session, but the wary old general who holds the fort at the present moment knows full well how to use his opportunities, and the war carried ou against him will be about as hopeless as that waged by the Turks against the Russians. I am very glad to be able to congratulate the people of Nelson upon at last having a decent building in which theatrical entertainments may be given. I imagine that for some years past no one ever went to a performance in the Odd-Fellows' Hall without a blush of shame at the idea of that being the best room for the purpose of which a town of the ago and standing of Nelson could boast. That the enterprise of the members of the Order, to which it belongs, in building such a Hall are fully appreciated by the pnblic wns pretty well proved by the assemblage on Thursday night of the largest crowd that ever gathered under one roof in Nelson. There were two or three gentlemen among the audience who really seemed to be so delighted in finding themselves in such a building that they allowed their feelings to run away with them altogether. Their VGcal performances would have been very delightful to listen to had they not been somewhat out of place, and they appeared to forget what they will perhaps be good enough to remember the next time they favor the Hall with their presence that theaudience did not attend for the purpose of listening to the exquisite sounds thac proceeded from their lips. The published programme told them what they were to expect, and they would have been quite satisfied with the performance of what appeared there without the supplementary entertainment provided by a few in the gallery, whose notions of the muskal excellence of their own voices appeared to be of a somewhat exaggerated character. That wasn't at all a bad joke of the City Council the other day when they sued their own legal adviser for a breach of their byelaws, which had possibly before their publication been submitted to him for approval. At the meeting of the Council a fortnight ago the Mayor stated his determination to enforce them inside the Chamber in order to show the outside public that they were not to be ignored with impunity, and the prosecution iast Wednesday, I presume, was a step in the same direction. There is, however, one feature in the affair that is a little puzzling to people not connected with the 'Conucil. On a bright night, when the moon is at its full and shining brightly, it is not deemed necessary to light the street lamps. Why, then, should the authorities insist upon carriages carrying lights when they don't, consider it necessary to burn their own gas? What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Of course I have no intention of applying such disrespectful terms as " goose " and "gander" either to Councillors or carriage-drivers, but what I mean is — well it's easy enough to see what I mean without my going to the trouble of explaining it.