THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 284, 7 December 1878, Page 2

THE WEEK.

" The weather has bee what you might call a trine dry' of late 5 indeed one might say it has been very-dry without any risk of beijig ' called a liar." By the inverted commas between which these words are placed it will at once be seen that they are not my own. Indeed it is not likely that I should have had the temerity to write them after our Nelson experiences of the past week, for lam not, deskousof placing myself in the position of ' having the highly objectionable epithet with which the borrowed sentence concludes de- I servedly applied to me. The author of them I may say is a newspaper" writer at' "Ch'rist-" chnrch who is well known throughout the colony by t tlie soubriquet "Loafer in* the, street," and I hai-c merely (Jiioted him to show in what a totally different manner the weather is behaving on the east coast to that in which it is conducting itself in Cook's Straits, and on the western portion of, this island. It would be a strange item in tho meteorological annals of Now Zealand if it were recorded that to the eastward prayers were offered up in the churches for rain while ftt the same tittle there went up from the west a petition for dry weather. Arid yet it would seem that to this we are fast eomiug. Our two gladiators P. and A. are still in suspense, aud arc eagerly waiting for the signal to, be given which will anuounce that the time has arrived for their closing iu mortal combat. But if the principals are'keeping quiet or feigning to be sq-,< their, backers are displaying symptoms of becoming restless, and are doing a little work sub rosa.' Everything indicates one of the keenest contesta yet witnessed in Nelson, and now that<matters have gone so far, the sooner: it iVover the better. The 'awyers' auniiallioliday\ isapproaching, and wh.en.that coines-to an end, it; would be well, if the t\vo\combatjint3. were\ to 'be'- afforded the opportunity ' of . adjourning from the floor of the Court to the platform; of the- Provincial. Hall; there}^ to'argue the point at issue, which may be into a veryffew words— Who's the 'belter : man? " '.'• ." -.-' .*• • . ;■. -; In moments of unwisdom such as we are . all of us liable to occasionally, the member" for Motueka his now and then laid himself open to a little quiet chaffing at the hands of the members of the Press, and to indulge in this I confess that the temptation has once or twice been too strong for me to resist. Now, however, I have to refer to him in a different . manner .altogether, and.l anvglad.tohave.the... opportunity of showing that where commendation i3 due 1 it is as pleasing a duty to me \ttr bestow it as ifc is to hold up to ridicule when such a course appears to be called for. Charity, we are told, covers a multitude of sins. A good, honest, sensible such as Mr Hursthouse delivered in the House on the question- which is of such vital importance to us in Nelson— the connection of the north and south by a main line of railway— would ,be ample atonement for a much greater number of little weaknesses that the member of Motueka may have displayed in his brief' public career. As J understand that his speech is to be published in a form that; will give to non-readers of Hdnsar'd an opportunity of perusing it I don't know that l I need say another word in its favor. Tdo not claim for it ; that ifc possesses any great brilliancy or. preteutions to oratorical -eloquence, but as the outspoken opinions of a man who evidently believes what he.is saying and recognises the gravity and importance of- the subject with which he is; dealing, Mr Hursthouse's speech on the second reading of the Railways Construction Bill, will, J believe, raise him considerably in the estimation of his constituents. . ' ' ' ■*, There's a telegraphic correspondent a^va'y up north who must be what the Yankees' would call "an amusing cuss." Seeing some smoke, away to seaward the other day he wired off' with praiseworthy energy that a vessel was going to blazes fast in mid ocean. More than'this we had her name given to us, her birthplace, the purpose .for; .wrhicfit she was .Mlt,.;her .cost, her destiiiation^%he amount of cargo she had on jboars!>tan^hj sum, for which^ .she, was insured,, and !"tbe offices that Would be-'^he sufferers.'^ This surely was substantial and comprehensive enough for anything, Butaf ter being worked up to such a .pitch. of excitement it was : very trying, to say the least of it, to be let dotyn with a sudden- drop by a " later " telegram ■ stating, " Ifc wasn't a ship afc all, but only somebody burning fern on a distant point of y land." I fancy that telegraphist will be careful to use a pair of powerful binoculars before he reports any more marine disasters without, first taking care to ascertain that they really have occurred. ' ■, I recently read the following item of news culled from a Home paper:—" It .is said that the Sultan has decided to reward Osmau Pasha with his daughter in marriage for his gallant.defence of,, Plevna,"; ...ThiMs very nice and^very. rbtoantic/-but J'snodld Jike, haying .been told so mpch.to be let alitile further into the seeret> K ;ls Mrs Osman that ; is to be, good-looking,,, and nice,, and goodtempered? Has she plenty of "sugar "? I use. the word in its Australian, not its Mauritius seb.3e. Does she want to have'tbe Pa>ha for a husband? "'""'Then on the .other hatfd : what does he say about' it?; ' Does he like the ■ girl, or would be' rather be without her?' It would be"awfally : hardon the poor fellow if after spending weeks of misery and anxietv in Plevna* he was to ; be- rewarded' by 'being given: a wife whom.be would infinitely prefer to see married to some one else. I shall not : feel easy in my mind about Osman until 1 1 hear something more about this new style of i rewarding bravery, „; . j The following rather novel advertisement ' caught my eye when looking over ton paper the other day: — "Lost— Lady's : Light Hair ; near Post Office; Einder re- j warded," :> Now,; to) what does. the unfortu- i nate hairless lady attribute her loss? To i thr winda of , (Wellington, or to the prevailing '■ fash^ipn;?/ j'Cain ,ifc ,'be possibly' that ,a .lady walking near the Post Ofluje in : is liable to^ have her own well-ropted hair blown clean out of 'her scalp? This is worse than . anything we haye . yet; heard -of/ |he : winds'of Wellington. , But perhaps the ad- '< vertisement should have been ; worded differently, made to rMd ,^huß:— "Lost^bj a lady'walkibg'near the'Post Office' somebody ; else's hair." ■ Tjjen we might 1 " have understood it, and; Wellington, have_ been 1 spared , the imputation that will naturally' ibe cast upon it by those who, satisfied with their own hair themselyea, cannot understand; $he craze for wearing that which has at one time belonged to somebody else. F.