The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 1878.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 180, 29 August 1878, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 1878.

By those parts of the colony which are to benefit by the proposed exteusion of the railway system during the next five years the Statement delivered by Mr Macandrew on Tuesday will doubtless be most favorably received, and hymns of praise will be sung m honor of the Ministry that has come down with so bold a scheme. What shall we say about it in Nelson though? In the course of the long speech this provincial district is referred to once. With what object? To show that the Government have not entirely ignored us, but that out of the .£8,385,000 that are to be expended on public works within the next five years, they actually intend to lay out Four Thousand Seven Hundhkt) Pounds in doing something— it is not quite clear what—in the Aorere district We say advisedly that this is all that we are to expect for five years, because the House, it appears, Is to be asked this session to do that which virtually amounts to passiug the estimates for public works for that period. A certain scheme is laid before the Parliament which will take that time to work out, aud this scheme involves the expenditure of the whole sum which the Government propose to devote to public works between now and 1883. A beggarly £4700 is considered enough for Nelson. Not only are we not to have a share in the benefits to be conferred by the extension of railways, but it is further proposed to deprive us of such assistance as has been hitherto given for such purposes as bridging large rivers— works which are altogether beyond the reach of the local governing bodies— because" hereafter" —we quote from the Statement—" we propose to confine Public Works operations entirely to railway construction." In a few words the position in which the Nelson district will find itself in this:— Railways are to be rapidly pushed forwar.i in all the wealthiest parts of colony. Nelson is to be excluded from any participation in the advantages to be derived from them. As the railways will require every penny that can be obtained, no other public works are to be proceeded with. Consequently Nelson is to suffer in two ways. She is to be shut out of the railway system, and is also to be denied any assistance for local works because the railways to be constructed in the other districts will absorb the whole amount available. A pretty prospect truly! Now is the time for us to see what sort of stuff our members are made of. If anything should place them on their mettle and urge them to combined action, it is the gros3 injustice which it is proposed to perpetrate upon this district. The principle upon which Mr Macandrew proposes to act is so accurately expressed in words written 1800 years ago that we cannot do better than quote them:— " Unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have in abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath."

A pdulic meeting is to be held at Lower Wakefield to-morrow evening for the purpose of considering certain matters connected with the working of the Education Act. The stereotyped verdict was returned by the jury yesterday afternoon at the inquest on the recent fire in Hardy-street, namely, that there was no evidence to show how it originated. Mb. Newport ha 3 received information from Newcastle that the copper ore he sent over a few weeks ago from his mine at the Maitai,has,on being smelted, yielded most satisfactory results. 15^ per cent being obtained from undressed ore, making the value in Nelson about £G 6s per ton. Were the ore dressed, the yield would probably be double that obtained from what was sent away the other day.