The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 48, 25 February 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1880.

Those who are in the habit of perusing the papers nubliahed in Other narta of the Colony Cannot fail to notice the remarkable connection between the " unemployed " cry and the clamor which invariably and immediately follows it for the vigorous prosecution of public works : in th<j district in which it is raised. Mad t^is happened Only ttnce or twice it might, hive been regarded merely as a coincidence, and nothing more, but occurring', ,as it does; so frequently, it can scarcely be regarded as accidental, but it becomes clear that one is to be attributed to the other, though whichis the cause and which the effect is hot always easy to ascertain, and a reaiy and unhesitating answer is not to be givan to .the question. Are the " Unemployed '* brought to the front as an incentive to the Government for commencing some public works about which they appear to be 'rather lukewarm, or is the work advocated as a means of giving employment to those who are; really in need of it ? The latest instance of the demand for a rail , way following closely on the- complaint of want of employment, has occurred in Wellington, where the papers have recently been publishing pitiful aceoiints of the distress" prevailing in that place, and the " unemployed " have been toiling up big mountains for the purpose of giving unfettered utterance to their grievances in the more raVeJied air to be found at an elevation of a coiiplfe of thousand fe"et above the level of the s«a. The storm then seemed to blow itself out, at all events there was a day or two's calm, and then appeared occasional allusions to the Wellington-Foxton railway, which culminated in the Government being deputationised with a view to urging them to action in tha matter, with what result remains te be seen. Might not we in Nelson learn a lesson from the acuteness displayed by our fellow colonists in ether districts, and advantageously follow the example they have more than once set us ? The working plans for the extension of the railway beyond Bell Grove were completed two or three weeks ago, but as yet no advertisement has appeared calling for tenders. This might, perhaps, be hurried on by a little judicious application of the " unemployed " spur, which could bo very easily buckled on in Nelson. Wb have to acknowledge the receipt last night from the head quarters of the Press Association at Wellington of the following telegram : — "Nelson, — Fire broke out about noon in some rooms above shop in Trafalgarstreet occupied by Mr Crawford, musician. Eire brigade assembled and expeditiously extinguished fire, which appeared serious in asoiuch as valuable block including Wy mond'a corner was in jeopardy. There was no insurance ; loas very triflng." As the custom of forwarding to us Nelson telegrams is a growing one with the Association we would suggest that, if they consider it really necessary to keep it up, they should use a little more expedition and send them as " urgent." It would be costly of course, but then no newspaper proprietor should complain now-a-days of paying any price for anything sent by telegraph. And it would be so pleasant, too, to Hit at our desk and listen to the bells ringing out the alarm for a fire within three hundred yards of our office and to feel assured that there was no necessity for going out to make enquiries as we should hear all about it from Wellington in the course of an hour or two. But to hare put imto our hands at 9 p.m. a telegram the purport of which we had had in type eight hours previously was just a trifle irritating, and, if we did tear it up in a fit of temper, and use something very like "a big big D," it surely was excusable under the circumstances. The Gaiety Variety Troupe gave another capital performance at the Theatre Royal last night, and this evening they will make their last appearance in Nelson, on which occasion there will be a complete change of programme, and a very enjoyable and amusing entertainment may be anticipated. Capt. .Drake, the local Secretary for the N. Z. Rifle Association, informs us that the names of Gunner Shone and P. O. Fathers were omitted from the list of Nelson entries which we received from Wellington and published yesterday. There have also bee* eleven post entries made, namely, Sub-Lieut. Bird, J. Hunter, H. Hall, E. Neal , W. Batt, A. Bird, H. Wratt, J. Hagan, G. Bennett, N. Fowler, and Capt. Bunny. These bring up the total of Nelson entries to 42. Mb. J. Byrne has shown ua a letter addressed to Messrs Smith and others by the Under Secretary for Justice, stating that they had been misinformed when told that the Government had granted a re-hearing i i reference to the prospecting claim at Mount Arthur, as the Government has no power to do anything of the sort, the matter resting entirely with the Courts. We understand that Mr George Hodgson has resigned the appointment of Secretary to the Education Board. It in to be hoped that the Board will prove equally ready with Mr Hodgson to admit having made a mistake in this matter, and that they will see fit to reduce the salary to be attached to the office by at least £100 a year, as there can be no doubt whatever that for £250 a year the services of a perfectly competent Secretary may be obtained. A i-bctdrk, of which " Uncle Tom " will form the subject, will be delivered at the I Hope school-room to-morrow evening, by the Rev. J. Beckenham. Tub monthly inspection of the Town and Port Volunteer* took place last night, when there was a large muster, all the corps being well represented. After the usual inspection of arms had been made, the Volunteers, headed by the Battalion Band, marched to the Botancial Reserve, where they were put through a number of tactical evolutions by I Captain Webb, the Adjutant of the district, in all of which they acquitted themselves creditably. They then marched through the towu and back to the Drill Shed, where they were dismissed. Captain Bunny was the inspecting officer. Thm prospectus of the Greymouth Wallsend Colliery Company (limited) is published, and cannot fail to. prove attractive to capitalists desiring to invest. The details will bo found at length in the advertisement, and, if anything more were required to recommend the speculation to the public, it is supplied in the report of the manager of the Dunedin gasworks made to the City Council last night, and telegraphed to us to day, in which it is stated that so superior is the Greymouth to the Newcastle coal that by using the former the city of Dunedin cau effect a saving of no less than £6000 a year. The Hospital Committee desire to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of £5, from Mrs Smith, of Picton, to be applied to some suitable purpose for the benefit of frbe fenwle ward el tb9 Hospital

Whbn firing for the company'! medal at Wellington on Saturday last, one of tha Naval Brigade made the splendid score of 66 out of a possible 60 points. In a long letter of three columns to the Ashburton Guardian, Mr Alfred Saunders criticises the verdict of the jury at the in«[u«at held on his late daughter, Mrs Buchanan, who died while under his treatment. The following is the closing paragraph t — " Misfortune may yet compel me to seek the assistance of the Ashburton sUrgeong, in which capacity I honor thtm more ttian mbst persons do— and I know that, even after thia letter, I shotild find Jit least one of them very skilful, vary generous, and very forgiving — but I shall never come to them for any of their drugs, however "serious" my illness may be; aud I hope my sons will have the courage to let me die illegally and peaceably in a warm bath, or a wet sheet; and leave the doctors to hold as many inquests di they please over me and to cut my body about as they like« to slsterta! n I^2 9 ai > 9e of my death, which they will probably prononnce tv Z? ' drugophobia.'" The last Gazette announces tun* J? r Wl J3/ ' Curtis, of Nelson, has been appointed auditor of the Highway Boards, Nelson District, and -' fjiditor for the Counties of Waimeftj Buller, Collirlgwodd, Inangahuaj aHd Gkoy. Appointment dating from the 2nd inst. The Aiftburtoh Guardian saysi— •• ifesterday^the aasiitatit* ap4,otbera in the eiiiploy of T. R. Hpdder and Company presented the head of; the firm. Mr Hodder, penior,. with fivevery handsome ,voluraesi in token of ttiair appreciation of his kindness and considerateness towards therai Mr Hodder, on receipt } of the testimonial, expressed the pleasure such a mark of his employes' good will gave him. Ie was doubly gratifying to him, in- ' asmuch as it was the first instance in his 35 years' business career, in which he had met with employes who chose such a tangible and unexpected mode of expressing their ap- | preciation of the consideration he has invariably show» towards those employed by him. The occasion of Mr Hodder's 53rd birthday was taken advantage of as an appro--1 priate time for making the presentation. Last night's Post contains the following London telegrabis, of the 22nd inst: — There is apparently a willingness on the part of a number of the Afghan chiefs to submit to the British and close the cahdpaigo, provided certain concessions are made to them in the terms of peace. Mahomed Jan's following is believed to be breaking up, and a number of influential Khans have signified their desire to Genl Roberts to discuss conditions of peace. General Roberts has, accordingly, opened negotiations with them, which are still proceeding. — The Petrbffski Academy, an important public building at Moscow, was set fire to by an incendiary on Saturday night. There is overy reason to believe that the outrage was the work of Nihilist conspirators. The alarm in Russia at the spread of the movement is daily increasing — The Canadian Government have voted 100,000 dollars (about £21,000) towards the Irith Relief Fund. — The Russians are sending torpedo boats and war material to Port Olga Bay, abandoning Vladivostock. — It i* rumored that the Russians are arranging with Japan for a large ship yard at Nagasaki. As the dispute between China and Japan is still Unsettled, and as China talks of refusing to ratify the ILuldga treaty, Japan may accept the proposal of Rusiia. — The Irish Works Bill debate in the House of Commons derived ita chief importance through the Irish members prolonging the discussion to shelve Mr Newdegate's mo ion to prevent obstruction. The Government is thus induced to replace Mr Newdegate's with a resolution of their own. lit is believed that they are desirous of appealing to the country on the " anti-obstruction " cry.