Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 26, 3 November 1880, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1880.

E_.oa_ the traffic returns of the New Zealand railways for tbe four weeks ending 18th September we are glad to find that the receipts on the Nelson section show a marked improvement, the amount being £558 against £478 for the . corresponding period of last year. There is still the same falling of. in the number of passengers that we noticed last' month, the totals being for the 1879 month 674 first and 4087 second claas, and for that of 1880, 410 and .3826 respectively, and the receipts from this source are £277 for the monthly period of this year against £313 for that of last year. The goods traffic on the other hand has increased from £165 to £281. It is a curious and noteworthy fact that on every, section except Auckland and New Plymouth there isV marked decrease in the number of passengers, as will be seen from tbe following figures shpwing the tptals

„ r,n .ii .ii.H. i - hj" i ■'' of those who travelled during the month ending 18lh September last, and the corresponding period of the previous year;—"

Here is a falling off of over 10,000 passengers, for wbich it is not easy to account, unless it be on the ground that there is a smaller amount of cash available for anything approaching to luxury now ihan (here was a, year ago. Fortunately, however, the goods traffic has increased as the passenger list has been reduced in its ditu.n.lons^ and the receipts ' frcm both :' soyrces .how a considerable » improvement, bt-irig £60.488 for this 'year against .-for'--1879. The total receipts for the'~current financial year, half of which has now gone, -havebeen jE376,506. while, the -expetjj3jt,ut«?j for the same period.- amounts to .'£252,882,' leaving a balance of £123,684 towards the interest account. ' As a paying line pur diminutive Nelson section stands fifth on the list of eleven, the expenditure for the month having been 80^40 per cent of the receipts. The Greymouth is a 9 usual the most "remunerative, the expenditure on that line' being, only 51 63 of the -receipts. The Westport section is, as it ever has been, a 'Srain upon the colonial chest, the expendi ture upon it for the month having been £134 15s for -every £100 taken. And this is the ordinary monthly result. On the great southern lines the receipts per mile of railway for a twelve monthly period hove averaged £834 19a 4d, and the expenditure per utile has been £530 8s 9d. On tbe Nelson section the avtrage receipts per mile are £405 0s 9d, while tbe average expenditure amounts to £324 169 9 d. ; ._ ' In the Wellington Diocesan Synod the other day tbe Bishop was asked whether he. had received any invitation to co-operate witb other religious bodies in the celebration of tbe'ce'ntenary of the Sunday school movement, and, if so, whether he would state the reason why the Cburch of Engl-nd stood aloof on that occasion. The Bishop in replying said : — " In declining to answer the question which has just been asked, F do so because I wish the Synod tp understand, once for all, that while I shall always be most 1 happy, to give any information that the Synod, may require for its guidance, I decline to answer questions which may appear to bave no direct bearing on its proceedings." Tub Post says that Dr Leighton Kesteven has received the appointment of Provincial Medical Officer for .the Island of Ovalu, under the Fijian Government... , , At the Magistrates' Court this morning the business was confined to dealing with one or two cases of cattle straying on the roads. Judgment will be given iv the case of Flett v. Webster by the Resident Magistrate at 11 o'clock to-morrow morning. Mr. Mills, the energetic superintendent of the lunatic asylum, has a new idea for providing amusement for tbe patients under his care, and with this view has started a subscription list for .the purchase of- a billiard table, which would enable tbe inmates to while away many a weary hour. We trust that bis efforts will meet with success. The Flemington race course yesterday, must, according to our telegraphic accounts, have presented a sight that .would astonish the visitors from Europe and elsewhere who are now in Melbourne^ and probably never expected to witness in tbe Australasian colonies such a gathering as was attracted by the great race for the Cup. Eighty thousand is, we believe, the largest number that ever assembled on such an occasion before, but yesterday, we are told, that no less than 100,000 were on tbe course, and as the ladies' dresses on " Cup day " are always noted for their beauty and costliness, it is - easy to imagine that on such a special occas- . sion tbe scene must have been one of more than ordinary brilliance. The racing throughout the meeting, so far, seems to have been unusually good and closely contested, no less than tbree dead heats having been run, one for the Maribjroong Plate, another for the Railway Stakes, and the tbird for tbe Darling Stakes. The result of the race for the Clip must havebeen disappointing to many wbo bad put their faith in the New Zealand representative, Mata having found . the company too good for him, and never shown to the front at all. The winner, Grand Flaneur, who is by Yattendon, must be a grand horse, and, as our telegrams to-day state, has never yet seen a rival pass him at the winning post. The tbird day's "racing takes Iplace to-morrow, when "The Oaks" will be the chief event, and the fourth and last onSaturday, when the principal items on the will be the V.R.C. Handicap, a sweepstakes of 7 soys each with 150 added, and the Canterbury Plate, a sweepstakes of 10 soys eacb, with 300 added. Melbourne was evidently keeping high holiday yesterday, for, in addition tb the hundred thousand who assembled on the course, no less than 20,000 visited tbe Exhibition, this being by far the largest number that has yet attended the building in one day, 12 000 being the most numerous attendance yet recorded. The Marlborough Expre.s of Friday says : — A gentleman from Blenheim who haß no interest whatever in the matter, paid a visit on Friday to the coal mines at Shakespeare Bay. He assures us tbat he satisfied himself by ocular demonstration that there is plenty of good coal there, which only needs getting and conveying to market. It appears that several shafts have been sunk in various parts of the Bay, and the coal seam is found in eacb at depths varying from the surface to 275 feet. Considerable work will bave to be done in the way of road-making to enable the coal to be brought down to the water. When tbis is done, it ia calculated that it can be landed in Wellington for 12s per ton and for still le.s in Blenheim. The venture ia tbe property of Mr Fell and four Or five others, and we understandlhat it is still undecided whether these gentlemen will work it themselves or form a company. Active operations may, however, be looked for at np distant date. Some of the travellers between Picton and Blenheim (says the Picton Press) have discovered a weak place in the railway fares, and instead of paying the sum of 4s, secondclass fare, from Picton to Blenheim, succeeded in doing the through journey at 3s 6d,' and that, too, without infringing the regulations. This is the way the scheme is worked: The ordinary fare from Picton to Tua Marina is 2s 6d, and from the latter place to Blenheim it is ls, so that travellers miay take a ticket fQr Tua Marina, and when they arrive there take another for Blenheim, by which 6d is saved. The scheme will not work so well for return tickets, nor for first-class fares, but there surely is room for alteration when, by giving e^ra trouble to the booking clerk, persons travelling can effect a saving on the through rates.

Section , : 1880 1879 Auckland ... 18,232 18,148 New 1 Plymouth 5,277 3,616 Kaipara . ... 1,061 1,164 Napier ... 6,891 8,035 Wellington ... lo;'8O2 11.951 Wanganui ... 8,916 11,690 Amberley — KingEton ... 132,720 138,178 Grey mouth ... 1,949 2,003 Westport ... 1,135 1,817 Nelson ... 4,236 4.761 Picton ... 1,942 2,085 Totals ... 193,211 2^3,348