MOTUEKA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 40, 16 February 1881, Page 2

MOTUEKA.

[From our own Correspondent] .

Having recently paid a visit to the pretty and very English-like village of Motueka and been a good deal interested in what I there heard aud saw, I propose to give a brief accouut of my trip in the hope that I may impart a little of that interest to your readers. Arriving there on Monday evening 1 found that the chief attraction was MrHnrsthouse's meeting at the Institute, but the temperature being anything but favorable to political meetings, the number of those who after a hard day's work in the fields were willing to spend an hour or two in a hot roctn was not large. I have read Mr Hursthouse's speeches in flantiaid, and I have attended one or two of his meetings at Waimea West, and the conclusion I have arrived at is that if you want to hear him to the greatest disadvantage, Moiueka is the place to go to to attain the object of your desire. In the House he feels, I presume, that he ia addressing a body of men of whom many can boast of

high education, considerable natural ability, or high Bocial standing j iv Waimea West his speeches are delivered to comparative strangers, of hi 3 standing among whom he is not quite certain ; but iv Motueka he is talking to those ho is, ailcl for many years past has been, in the habit of meetiug every day, aDd he seems entirely to forget the fact that he is a colonial legislator addressing a section of the electors*. There is a free and easy conversational style about his manner that is scarcely calculated to command reßpectj you feel that yon wouldn't object to it m the slightest degree in " .Richmond Hursthouse " — as he delights in calling himself— when talking to a lot of his chums at .a .social gathering, but. It dpee sceoi entirely out or place in a mettiber hi Jfflrliarnent, who is supposed to be gravely address ing his constituents ou the leading events or the session. Mr Hursthouse says, and I really believe him, that he feels that the electors of Motueka have placed him in a position of honor; With " honor ' there Is generally associated some sense of. dignity, lie should remember this, and bb would find, as a consequence, that his utterances would cany greater weight and more conviction. But there are other attractions in Motueka besWes pHUti'jS; and onb of the greatest is the prolific gardens and orchards, the latter of which are in some parts ft sight well worth seeing, the apple trees being laden with rich golden fruit. . But, alas 1 the Mctuekans have a grievance and you will hear a man, as he points (6 the bowed down branches of his trees, exclaim in a tone of dissatisfaction, " What's the good of it all when there's no sale for fruit ? I'd willingly sell my plums at a shilling a gallon, but I can't get even that." After all, I Buppose there isn't much real satisfaction in gi owing large quantities of apples, plums, and peaches only to look at. There is, however, one mm over there who is endeavor irq to turn to pood account the bountiful crop of fruit. That is Mr Samuel Carter, who, assisted by his daughter only, h;is commenced manufacturing jam and preserved fruit on a large scale ; large, that is, for ouly a couple of hnmls, energetic and hard-working though they he. Already he has turned out a considerable quanlily, and before tho close of the season he hopes to have afc least five tons ready for tho market. At first, tins for pulling the jam, &c. in after it was made were diiltcuit to be obtsiinc.l, but Mr and Miss Carter arc not easily daunted, so they sent for a lot of short tin, got the necessary machinery for rolling, punching, and pressing it. into shape, and one oi! the rooms in the house now contains a stack of cylinders that ere long will be filled wiih the product of the Motueka gardens. The retail price of the jam and preserves is, I understand, 7£d per 11). 1 don't know enough about the matter to say whether that will pay, or sufficient of the' demand to be aware whether there wi'l be a sale for the produce of this tiny, but well ordered manufactory, but I do feel perfectly justified in asserting that if they get their deserts Mr Carter and his daughter will find when they come to make up their books that they have bad a very successful season. Harvesting operations in Motueka are now completed, and the farmers have every reason to be thoroughly well satisfied with their grain crops which have been unusually heavy. The potatoes, however, are beginning to suffer from the long drought, and they will have a bard time of it if rain does not come soon. The hops, of which there are about 50 acres in the district, are also in want of rain, and the yield, from what I could learn, will not bo beavy in the majority of iustances, though I heard of one or two gardens that were expected to average a ton to the acre. Unfortunately these are exceptions to the general rule. There is a good deal of talk just now among the Molueka residents about the IMouut Arthur reefs, and every now *nd then when conversing with some of them on the probable result that a gold field on the Mount would have upon the village on the plain, I fancied I could detect a tendency to enter upon the very charming and attractive process of building castles in the air. Ido hope they won't come tumbling down with a crash aa has been the fate of bo many fairy edifices of a similar character which have been reared in Nelson. A rumor was brought down on Saturday that the reef had run out, but although it caused a slight panic at the time, it had not received confirmation up to the time of my leaving on Tuesday afternoon, although there hnd been one or two down from tho Table Land in the meantime. I send you for publication if you thick fit, a few notes that were furnished to me by a gentleman who visited the reefs last week. [These will appear in to-morrow's

issue. J