FROM GISBORNE TO MELBOURNE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1064, 22 April 1882, Page 3

FROM GISBORNE TO MELBOURNE.

•{Written fur the Poverty Bay Standard.] No. iv. (Continued from our Last), It was a beautiful sight to drive through Nature’s loveliness, and view its ninny aspects of contrast, ftnd delight, on one of those balmy inpr.nings that make yuurJCpLmy the adinirntibn of the travelling wofcld.- .Not only rhe lu>ip gardens wore their sunny, cheerful look ; but fruit, vegetables and Howers all.testified-to the tastes, if not the industry of their possessors, and to the salubrity of the climate. I cannot compliment the people on their industrious hubilfc outside the hopfield ; ''for thrtv were not wanting evidences of a careless disregard, •or want of appreciation of, the fruitfulness with which the cup of plenty was filled. Fruit going to decay, vegetables rotting on the ground, gardens, teeming with Nature’s rosiest hues, untended, ami a general appearance of indolent independence. The consequence was t» at while these things were abundant in the country and suburbs, they were not very cheap in the tow'd ; while one of those anomalies existed, of which we seldom Lear, that although the supply was, or might be, more than equal to the demand, prices were maintained beyond what was to be expected. But Nelson is not singular in this respect. Even your own district can impute a large measure of blame to itself on that score ; for it is in the knowledge of the writer that the shopkeepers of Gisborne have had, hitherto, to import even vegetables* to say nothing of fruit, and other commodities producible in Poverty Bay, from beyond sea. while acres, in their liberal measurement, a few miles distant, teemed with abundancies that were grown only to rot. and supply m:ua.ure for the coming season. Only fancy a fertile country like yours, not able' to boast of a population able to shut out the importation of cabbages, carrots, onions, and the like from Napier and Auckland ! newspapers say, is useless. A word or two on what is proverbially known as the “ prettiness ”of Nelson. Pretty is an adjective of which, as applied to Nelson, I cannot see the appropriateness. One might as well say Gisbome is pretty, as Neison.. Bo h are fiat, stale, and, so far as my.experience and observation go, unprofitable. No landscape,’ nor view of the earth can be pretty, that is unbroken. Amongst the hills forming the. background there are some places that relieve the eye, and vary the monotony of the low-lying portion, but with that concession my panegyic must end. The business portions are noted by some splendidly formed, and well-regulated streets, in which are builded sqme attractivelooking shops, and other places business. The public institutions are, also, on a scale of 'size and architectural pretensions, probably not generally expected to be found by visitors ; but the people don’t appear to be a pushing lot. If you are di-apjxtinted in not obtaining an -article of which you are in quest, you find no corresponding expression of regret on the part •of the seller. A kind of resigned indolence pervades the selling if not the buying mind, wl ieh is not calculated to impress those “new to the manner born," favorably. Still-4 doubt not there are some good features to be found on the face of Nelson city ; but the great wonder is that their expression is not more pleasingly pronounced, in order to realise the reports circulated outside so liberally in iis favor. Ti e quiet serenity of which I have written as pervading the business, and what should be the bustling portion of the com- - in unity, extends itself, too. with almost Puritan ; simplicity to the social circle. Society in Nelson is very limited in extent, and remarkably *-tridb in its proprieties. Interchanges of hospitality are few, or rather, circumscribed in their sphere; but if if they are severely select, they possess the counter-balancing element and charm of confiding friendship. Thus segregation, rather than aggregation, is a marked feature among the ton of Nelson. And no wonder 'when it is considered the groat number of persons and well-to-do families there are there, who have selected that quiet spot as a retreat of happiness and peace, in which to dwell serenely, and undisturbed by the grosser cares and troubles of life. Even the elements are hushed, and fear to disturb the Halcyon glories that abound. Geniality pervades the face of nature, and the very stoim clouds pass over to vent their fury on other lands, lest in their anger they should visit the cheeks of Nelson’s fairest damsels too roughly. The frosts and -bracing winds of the south, and the more enervating zephyrs of the north are, alike, comparatively unknown in Nelson. There the happy medium reigns o’er all ; and, undisturbed, in every sense, by those opposing forces that bring into play the better anil more enduring characteristics of our men and women, their time is spent in watching the sun rise and set, and the moon and stars run tlurir diurnal course. Nevertheless, like all other places under Heaven, Nelson has its attractions, and for such as I have described, is, I should say, a fitting habitation of probation for those who arc tired of this world, and looking anxiously for that which is to come. Still, for all that, like Taranaki, Nelson is not the place I should select to end my days in, much less would 1 care to sojourn there for any length of time. We left Nelson at 5 p.m. on a glorious evening, and had a fine-weather run to Tieton of 8 hours. Being rather a dark night, we saw nothing but the sombre outline of the hmsforming the Sound and French Pass, which I was anxious to behold, as 1 had heard so much of their beauty. However, what I have not Been I cannot describe. I went ashore at Picton alone, being the only passenger on deck at 1 o’clock in the morning ; but, beyond a solitary walk, during which I could see next to nothing, I had little to be rewarded with for my tronble. From what I learnt, Pieton is a busy little place for its size ; and, as compared with its more pretentious neighbor, Nelson, displays a great deal more business energy. The town, or the shipping portion of it, is built at the head of an indented bay, or rather one of a series of bays abounding there, and much resembles Port Chalmers on a small scale. It is (remarkably sheltered, being approached for some distance froili sedw’ard, between ranges off hills, averaging from a mile to half-a-mije apart, not unlike- the- entrance to Pqnt qnjy the hills appeared to be wooded, or covered with’ scrub. . A capital commodious 'wharf is a prominent feature in Pict on harbor,’to- which "Captain Kennedy skilfully moored his ship, dark though the night was. Several passengers came on board, and we left again at 3 a.m., to resume our course south.