The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1879.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 132, 4 June 1879, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1879.

The 30th of June, which terminates the current financial year, is approaching, but up to the present time no contract has been entered into for the construction of the ten miles of the trunk line of railway beyond Bell Grove, sanctioned by the Parliament in its last session, so that there is every reason ! to believe, indeed it may now be looked upon as a certainty, that the vote wiii have once more to be passed before the work cau be commenced. Sir George Grey bas been feeding his lambs in the North, "and Mr Macandrew's time aud attention have been absorbed in looking after the interests of his " brither Scots" in the South, so that there has been neither time nor money available for Nelson whose representatives will have to fight the battle of last year over again, Jthe result of which, we trust, they will ho able to lay before us in some more tangible form than that of piecrustian promises. The following telegram was received this afternoon by Captain Bunny, iv reply to one sent by him on Monday to Colonel Whitmore asking whether the Governor would be able to attend the Volunteer ball :~ " Received telegram,— Signature could not make out — asking whether His Excellency could attend a Volunteer ball. It has been fouud impossible for the Governor to go to Nelson just yet, and therefore he could not avail himself of an invitation. I was unable to say positively till yesterday and too hurried to reply myself till now." The ball is now advertised to take place on the 13th inst. There was an improvement at the Magistrates' Court this morning in the matter of the time of the opening, the public being detained only twenty minutes instead of the i usual half hour. But for the attendance of a Justice who is always found ready to sacrifice his own convenience to that of the public in this respect, the detention might have lasted until now. Defendants summoned to attend these Wednesday sittings will soon feel themselves at liberty to drop in at any j hour of the day, and to plead, in the event of the Court happeuing to open punctually, that j they really did not know at what time they ought to be in attendance. It seems that Nelson is not to be allowed ] to remain unaffected by the tightness of ' money that now prevails In Wellington. There were four civil cases heard at the Court this morning, in all of which the defendants, strange to say, were residents in that City of Bankrupts. We have received a letter from Mr Bromellre the railway route, which, however, it has been deemed expedient to hold over for a time. There was a capital house at the Theatre Royal again last night, when the opera of La Sonnambula was performed, and met with a most favorable reception afc the hands of the audience, who were enthusiastic in their approval of the manner in which some of its leading features were placed before them, and especially of tho scene between Amina (Mdme. Le Couteur) and Elvino (Mr Florence) which followed the discovery of the suspicious situation into which the former had been led by her sleep-walking propensities. The duett between these two, together with the accompanying chorus, was exceedingly well rendered, and, trying though it must have been to the singers, the audience insisted upon an encore, which was goodnaturedly given. Madame was also encored in the favorite aria popularly known by the name of "Do not mingle," as was Mr Florence in « Still so gently o'er me stealing." The Count Rodolpho was fairly represented by Mr Browning, and Mrs Florence as tbe coquettish, jealous, and net very high-princi-pled Liza was several times applauded, especially in her interviews with Alessio— the funny man of the opera, who certainly would have astonished Bellini, the composer, could he have witnessed the performances last night. The minor parts, including that of Dame Theresa, allotted to Miss Leslie, were on the whole well kept up, aud the choruses were excellent and had a very inspiriting effect on the audience. Thebrchesira J was the same as ou the previous evening excepting in appearance, the services of the two or three dummies who then occupied places in it being dispensed with. The honesty of the conductor in admitting that he had but three sound-producing instruments at his disposal was far better appreciated than the attempt to mislead. For to-night the opera selected is the "Grand Duchess," and those who can enjoy an evening's thorough amusement should make a point of attending. The teachers and senior scholars of the Hardy-street Wesleyan Sunday School met together last evening in the school-room to arrange for the forthcoming Concert and Exhibition, which is to be held for the purpose of defraying the expense of re-seating \ the school and other improvements which are being made. A few of the lady teachers had provided a capital tea, to which about sixty sat down, after which the real business of the evening commenced. Mr Veysay, the Secretary of the Committee, was called on to read a report of what had been done towards procuring exhibits, when he handed in a moat satisfactory list of names of those who had promised to assist, and announced that the Exhibition would take place early iv July. The Rev. Mr Bavin congratulated the teachers on the success which had so far attended tbafc efforts, and trusted that tiieir

most sanguine hopes would be realised. The most pleasing feature of the evening, however, was a presentation, by the new Supermtendant, Mr Waitt, to ihe Library of a ia J'? c . number of ha »dsomely bound volnmes, which, he had privately collected The Librarian, on behalf of the school, warmly thanked Mr Waitt for the zeal he had displayed in promoting the interest of the library, remarking that a gentleman who could do so much for one branch of the school was a most desirable acquisition as bupenntendent of the whole. The meeting was brought to a close by singing and prayer.