The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1879.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 242, 23 October 1879, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1879.

A RiiMOK having been current to the effect that Mr Adams and Mr Pitt had written to Mr Hall stating that henceforth they must be regarded as independent members, we have made it our business to ascertain for the information of our readers what amount of truth there is in the report, and we are now in a position to state to what extent it ia correct and how it originated. To begin with, so far as Mr Adams is concerned it is wholly untrue, he not having written at all. Mr Pitt did write, and the substance of his letter was an expression of regret that the Premier had not thought it necessary to consult his party before forming his Ministry and announcing the names of the members of the Cabinet to the House, and also that Mr Hall had not seen his way to make provision for the representation of Nelson and the West Coast in the Government. In conclusion Mr Pitt stated that he had no wish to desert the party with whom he had voted in the late division, but at the same time he felt it only right to say that he desired henceforth to be looked upon ag an independent member. The result of this was an interview between the Premier and Mr Pitt, when the latter was assured to his complete satisfaction by Mr Hall, as well as by Mr Bryce and Mr Oliver, (similar assurances haviog- been previously received by him from Major Atkinson and Mr Rolleston) that the interests of this part of the colony should be carefully protected, although it was not represented in the Ministry. Another result of Mr Pitt's protest was that a meeting of the Government supporters was called, satisfactory explanations relative to the formation of the Ministry were made, and the assurances with regard to the interests of Nelson and the West Coast were repeated, in consequence of which Mr Pitt requested that his letter, so far as it related to the severance of party ties, might be considered as withdrawn, from this it will be seen that Mr Pitt is jealously guarding the interests of his constituents, who may feel sure that he has not expressed himself satisfied with the assurances of the Government without good cause. Ir Mr Sheehan has uot made for himself any very great name as a statesman he certainly has fairly established his claim to be recognised by the present generation, and possibly by posterity, as "The Cabmen'a Friend." In fifteen months, so telegraphs our Wellington correspondent, he has paid to the local Jehus out of the Colonial Treasury the handsome little sum of £219 11s 6d for driving him, accompanied, perhaps, occa sionally by his Maori friends of both sexes about the streets of the Empire City , and has further run up a bill of Xll6 17s for the same purpose, which will, of course, have to be met out of the same coffers. As a Native Minister he has uot proved a success, unless in the sense of ministering to the Native wants, which, according to Mr Bryce's statement, he has done very liberally, though without bringing about any satisfactory results, but as illustrating how the public moneys can be frittered and fooled away by an extravagantly disposed Minister, we know of no member of any Government that has j ever been in power in New Zealand who could hold a candle to the Honorable John I Sheehan.

We have received no report of the proceedings in Parliament last night, from which we infer that the House did not meet, but adjourned from the afternoon sitting until to-day. The Mr Saunders referred to iv our yesterday's telegrams as being implicated in the extraordinary land case at Tiniaru, in which one James is the defendant, is Albert Godfrey Saunders. late a livery Btable keeper at Christchurch. Mtts Britten will deliver her third lecture at the Theatre Royal to night. The subject will be " Ancleut and Modern Freemasonry.''' A:V important meeting of the merilbers of the Young Men's Christian Association is advertised to take place tomorrow evening. Last night's Post contains the following telegram dated London 20th inst:— "A fearful disaster, accompanied by great loaa of life, has occurred at Cabul. From some cause not yet explained, the magazine in the Citadel of Bala Hissar exploded. Thirty of the English soldiers oceupj'ing the citadel were killed, together with a large number of Afghans." A& Adelaide telegram of the 21st inst. says : — The following Cape news has arrived here per Orient steamer i — Cetewuyo is found to be a man of considerable intellect, and a commander of great ability, tt Is absolutely untrue that he is of a murderous and cruel disposition, as has been repre sented. — A mounment is being erected at Isandula to the memory of the victims of the fatal disaster which occurred at that spot. The following Sydney telegrams dated 2 1st instant appear iv the Post of that day -. — The following are the final acceptances for the Melbourne Cup :— Chester, Newminster, Democrat, Tom Kirk, Darriwell, Monarque, Zambesi, Waxy, Tidal Wave, Mullyaa, Secundus, Koland, Credit, Wandering Jew, Richmond, Pollio, Le Loup, Wellington, Levant, Glenormiston, Suushine, South Hamilton, X.C 8., Falmouth, Caspian, Riverton, Suwarrow, Caractacus, Chatterbox, Savanaka, Lord Harry, Strathearn, Columbus, His Grace, Sweetmeat, Colima, Fau-blas, First Water, Earl of Mar, Geide Olgothach, Terrific, Adventurer, Narrabri.— Richmond, on the strength of a grand gallop, is backed freely for the Cup. Le Loup and Seoundus are considered by their partisans certain to defeat Savanaka. The betting is very heavy, but unaltered.— A match for £400 has been made between William Trickett and H. M'Lean. If the latter is successfol his backers intend to back him for a thousand pounds to row the champion, Edward Trickett.— Crowds of visitors are arriving here for the Exhibition. Dr Hector, the New Zealand Executive Commissioner, is adoptiug every means in his power to make known the wealth and resources of New Zealand. In this endeavor he is actively assisted by Mr H. Brett, of Auckland, who is here on a visit.— The sailors of the French man-of-war Le Rhin yesterday entertained the sailors belouging to the English and Austrian uien-of war in port to a banquet on board their ship. Everything was arranged in the most brilliant style, and the gathering ' passed off amid the greatest enthusiasm. There appears to have been some mistake in the telegram which we published on Tuesday relative to the Licensed Victuallers Association regarding the proposed alteration of the license fees. According to the Post the proposals were that there should be four kiuds of licensed houses, namely, town houses with 12 o'clock licenses, country hotels, accommodation houses, and ferry houses, the fee for the last named to be £1 per annum, and for the first named £30, with intermediate amounts for the country and accommodation houses.