The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 27, 31 January 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1880.

- The complaint made by " Citizen " ia a letter which appeared in our columns on Thursday last to the effect that sleepers were being brought from elsewhere for the Bellgrove extension of the railway; which runs through bush coiintryt was tfhe t-bftti required explanation, and we have therefore made it our business to enquire into the matter, and find the facts to be as follows: — In April last tenders were invited throughout the colony for a large number of sleepers in lots of not les3 than 10,000, and not exceeding 100,000, the tenderer to state, at which of the ports named in the specification he was prepared to deliver them. 3Tor some reason or other Nelson was not one of the specified ports, whether it was that the sleepers were not likely to be required there for some time, or what was the reason we do not know. No tenders whatever were re* ceired from this district, but a large number were sent in from different parts of the colony, and contracts were entered into by the then Government for far more than are likely to be required for some time to conie, and these are now lying unused in various parts of the country. It has, - therefore, been deemed advisable to utilise those which are already cut and have been paid for in preference to entering into any new contract, even though the article could be obtained here at a less price than that which is to be imported has co&t. This appears to be a reasonable explanation, so far as the supply of sleepers for the Bellgrove extension is .concerned, but why tenders should have been accepted in the autumn of -last year bo largely in excess of the probab le demand is another matter, and seems to point to extravagance and bad management in some quarter. The name of the Rev A. M, Garin was accidentally omitted yesterday from the published list of the Irish Relief Committee.! , We regret to state that the attempt to introduce the wbitefish here has proved almost an entire failure, or perhaps the more correct-way to put it would- be to say that the endeavor to render of no avail the care bestowed upon the ova on the voyage from San Francisco, by detaining them over a week in Auckland has been attended with complete success, less than 100 out of 250,000 having been hatched. The stink arising from many of the layers as they were unpacked was abominable, and nearly the whole of the eggs went bad a few hours after being placed in the water although, every care was used to keep the water cool by placing ice in it and sheltering it from the sun. It is satisfactory to know that at those places to which theboxes were despatched expeditiousty the hatching process was succeasf ully carried'out, so that ere long ova will probably be procurable from the New Zealand lakes for distribution throughout the colony. Theue was a capital house at the Theatre Royal last night, when the Amateur Dramatic Company gave an entertainment for the benefit of Mr John Glover. Criticism on such an occasion would be quite out of place, aad it is quite sufficient to say that the performance was most s creditable to all concerned, but we shall, we feel sure, be pardoned by the others' who took part in it if we give a special word of praise tp the young lady who with bo much sprightliness and vivacity acted the part of Rose Lester fa "The Wilful Ward," which was followed by . a musical interlude, 'varied by some excellent dancing by Mr F. N. Jones,,. Mr Crawford kindly providing the music. The farce, " A Sudden Arrival," produced immense merriment, and sent everyone home in a thoroughly good humor. Mr Oakey and the members -of the Battalion Band kindly gave their services for the occasion. The Customs receipts for the week ending to-day were £604 I7s sd. Those for the month of January amounted to £3286 10s, apportioned as follows:— Spirits, £619JL8s 2d; cigars, £32 14s; tobacco, £268 12s 6d; wine, £86 2s sd; ale, £26 4s sd; tea, £65 7s; coffe, £6 8s 6d; sugar, £230 3s Id; goods by weight, £134 lls; ad valorem, £1154 16s 6d; other duties, £145 Is 8d; other receipts, £516 10s 9d. Mr James desires us to acknowledge the receipt of a cheque for £25 from Mr George Harper for the Irish relief fund. We understand that Mr Bunny has received instructions to move in the Supreme Court for the release of Dr (?) Wallace from gaol on the ground that certain technicalities had not been observed in his com- . tnittal. The doctor is at present residing at Mr Shallcraßs's establishment on the hill in consequence of having been convicted of a breach of certain of the provisions of the ' " Medical Practitioners Act " in the Golden Bay district. With fine weather the Friendly Societies Fete on Monday next promises to be one of the most successful that has been held for years past. The prizes are valuable and the entries are numerous, and there is erery reason to believe that the attendance will be large, comprising both those who come to see and those who come, to be seen. The Battalion Band will be in attendance 1 during the day, and a display of fireworks will form the attraction at night, and a day of thorough enjoyment may fairly be expected. James Johnstone and Eugene Joseph O'Conor appear to be bent upon ruining each other, and are spending all their spare cash, the one in endeavoring to blast the reputation of the other. They began to fight in the Courts of law about the owner- - ship of three or four beasts, and now they are indulging in the more exciting pastime of prosecuting one another for perjury. On Tuesday last James Johnstone charged E. J. O'Conor in the Resident Mrgistrate'g Court at Westporc with a slight breach of etiquette in a Court of Justice, or as the Westport Times less euphemistically puts it, with having committed wilful perjury, and thereupon ensued a lengthy trial, involving all sorts of enquiries into cattle dealing transactions, at the close of which his Worship decided that the arbitration had showed that the cattle were 6'Conor's property, that there was no case of perjury, and that Johnstone's evidence was utterly worthless, and that which no jury would believe. It is now Mr O'Conor's turn again to become the or complainant, or to take the initiative in some shape or another in an action against his friend James Johnstone. Wht our telegraphic column is burdened with reports of interviews between some Volunteers and some publicans in Christchurch we cannot possibly imagine. It appears that there is going to be a review about Easter time, and, so far as we can make out from the telegrams, there is a difficulty about finding beds for those who are to take part in it, but we really are quite unable to conceive in what possible way the people of Nelßon can be interested in the matter. The Volunteers and Victuallers, we are told, are to meet again on Monday, and it would indeed rejoice our hearts to hear that the result had been similar to that which is reported to have attended an interview between certain Kilkenny cats, for then we should be troubled with no more of these wretchedly stupid telegrams. An inquest, at which Mr Henry Challis was foreman of the ]ury, was held before the Resident Magistrate yesterday afternoon at Waimea West to inquire into the cause of the death of Mr Jaoies GledhiU. After

hearing tbe evidence of the sister and son of deceased, and of Dr Marks who had made [a post Mortem examination Of the body, tbe Jury found that deceased died from natural tauses.j Mr Gledbill was a native of Leeds, Yorkshire, and canie to Nelson in the fihip Prince of Wales in the year 1842. The Coroner in charging the Jury commented upon the unpleasant necessity of viewing ths body and said the law might well be altered 6o as to make that proceeding necessary only when the Coroner considered it was desirable; The present system of a Jury going to the house of mourning in every case was often very painful to the friends of the deceased, and served no useful purpose.