The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 47, 24 February 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1880.

Titß monthly meeting of the. Southern St r Lodge of F^eehiasons will be held at half-past seven this evening. The monthly inspection of the Town and Port Voluateers takes place to-night at halfpast seven. Captains Crowe and Thompson, SubLieutenent Ballinger, the winner of the champion belt last year, and Cadet Holmes, arrived by the "^aitaki from Wellington this morning to take part iv the priie firing. About half-past eleven this morning smoke was seen issuing from a window in the npper storey of the premises in Trafalgarstreet lately occupied by Mr Trailtvetter, but now by Mr Crawford, the pianist, and his wife and family. Mr Crawford, who was in the shop below, on being informed of it, ran upstairs, and found a large 'straw mattress on fire, and immediately dragged it off the bedstead on to the floor in the middle of the room. In the meantime the alarm had been given, and two or three small hose 3 were at once playing on the roof, and on the adjoining buildings, and in a minute or two more the large hose and hydrant from the pedestal were fixed, and a deluge of water was poured into the room through the window, from which the smoke was issuing in a dense cloud. This soon extinguished the flames, and thus what might have been a disastrous conflagration was avoided. The Gaiety Variety Troupe made their first appearance in Nelson last night before a very fair audience, especially in the back seats and gallery, which were well filled. That the audience was %n appreciative as well as a numerous one may be judged from the fact that almost every item on the programme was encored, the demand for a reappearance being readily acceded to, and generally producing a new song, so that, a> a matter of fact, the entertainment comprised a doubls programme. We cannot refer to every item in detail, for the performance was exactly what it professed to be, and consisted of a " variety," bo that all tastes could be gratified. Those who did not care for singing could enjoy watching 1 the graceful dancing of the Muses Lloyd and Irwin ; those for whom dancing had no I charms might listen with pleasure to the ! ballad and comic singing of the numerous artistes whe compose the Company, while others who cared for neither of these had an opportunity of enjoying a thoroughly hearty laugh over the farce, with which the entertainment was brought to a close. The troupe will give a second performance at the Theatre to-night. A meeting of the Irish Relief Committee was held yesterday afternoon at the City Council Chamber, the Rev. Father Garin in the chair. The Hon. Secretary, Mr Kavanagh announced that the total amount of subicriptions up to date was £288, inclu iing £13 10s collected by Mr J. B. Blair from the workmen on the Foxhill railway works. On the motion of Mr Trask, seconded by Mr Kavanagh, it was resolved that the members of the Committee and the col lee ors be requested to get in the remainder of the contributions by that day week, and that the Secretary announce it by advertisement. A mketino of the Volunteer Reception Committee was held last night at which there were present, Messrs. A. J Richmond, in the chair, A. Jones, Trask, Bunny, Smith, Grossman, Rowlings and the Hon. Secretary. The following collections were reported : — Messrs. Trask and J. Hounsell £15 2s ; Mr i Wix £8 ; Mr Smith £1 11s, making a total of £72 5s 9d. The meeting then adjourned | until Thursday at 4 p.m., when afullattend- ' ance is requested. Messrs Sharp & Pickering will hold their sale of stock at the White Hart hotel, Richmond, tomorrow afternoon at half past two o'clock, an 1 it promises to be one of the largest ever held in Richmond. The yards will be full of stock of various descriptions, and, doubtless, there will also be a large attendance of buyers. The two o'clock train from towo will arrive in time for the sale. The Lynch Family of bellringers and vocalists, with a large company including Dr. Edward Lyndhurst, ventriloquist, Mr Alfred Santley, a new arrival from Eugland, and others leave Melbourne for New Zealand on the 17th inst. They purnoso playing at all the intermediate places between Invercargill and Auckland. Tub following London telegrams appear in last night's tost :— A great debate took place in the House of Lords last evening upon the policy of the Government in regard to the war in Afghanistan. The Duke of Argyle in a vigorous speech denounced that policy as being deceitful, weak, and cowardly, and casting: a stain on the honor of the British nation. Not only bad it involved the country in heavy expenditure, but, he contended, British influence has been weakened, instead of strengthened, and no practical advantage had been gained— The Earl of Beaconsfield defended the Government in a magnificent speech, in which be urged that the war had been forced upon them by the necessity of counteracting Russian intrigue, and that in spite of some unfortunate disasters which could not be foreseen or prevented, the conduct of the war had been such as to reflect the highest credit on the British arms. He expressed a firm belief that peace would be established ere very long on a basis that would secure great and lasting advantages to the British nation. — The Orient liner Sorata sailed for Melbourne on Saturday. The crops throughout the Buller and Inaugahua are the finest and heaviest probably ever harvested in the districts. This is especially the case with regard to oats, the growth of which is this year magnificent. Mr Agenore Dupuis, who was at oae time a resident in Nelson, and who is now proprietor of a restaurant in Ashburton, has got into serious trouble. On two separate occasions a professional sly grog informer (Felix Thomas by name) visited Dupuis' unlicensed premises, and from what he saw and tasted there, laid two charges of sly-grog selling against the " Professor." The cases were heard before Mr Guinness, R M., and Dupuis was fined £20 for each offence (totalling £40) with costs. The following remarks of the RegistrarGeneral on the exeesaive infant mortality from diarrhoea and dysentery last month, are very instructive, and will be read with interest: — Of the whole 35 deaths. 25 were of children under one year, or at an ago when they could not readily have had access to cold water, and to whom cold water is not usually given. This fact is noticed as the increase in this class of deaths is often popularly attributed to the character of the drinking water, and thus causeß are overlooked arising from improper diet and the neglect of the observance of strict cleanliness, not only in the use of infants' feeding vessels, but also in the domestic and outside arrangements of the house, so as to preserve the milk used by infanta from contact with impure air, which it readily absorbs.