TOWN NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 14, 6 April 1867, Page 3

TOWN NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Of all the sounds which would gladden the ear of the colonist and recall to him the season of youth, and fond recollections of the past, those of the lark carolling- in the sunshine, or the music of church bells on a Sunday morning, would be to him the most gratifying, and irresistable. He can leave the land of his fathers without regret, he can put up with most of the inconveniences of a colonial life with Anglo-saxon endurance, he can, with a isturdy spirit of independence and selfreliance, make battle on the wilderness, but he misses the song of the lark in the meadows, and he misses too, the chimes of the bells whih cheered him when a school-boy, which played in honor of his wedding, and which called him to church on the Sabbath morn. This has been the case with us, and we have not yet met with a person to whom we have conversed on the subject who has not acknowledged with feelings of regret that it has been the case with him. It was therefore with much gratification we he ird that on Sunday morning last the ears of the inhabitants of Wellington were once again charmed by the peal of church bells. The bells have been hungin the steeple of St. Paul’s Cathedral Thorndon, and we hope that they will be but the precursors of others which will yet be found in other parts of the Province $ and that by means of our acclimatization societies the song of the sky lark wil yet be heard in our fields mingling with the music of the village bells. Men have other feelings besides even the manly one of self-reliance to gratify, and those which tend to lift our thoughts from the sordid earth and from cankering care are the purest and most worthy of being cherished. Besides the testimonial to the Rev. Father O’Reilly, referred to elsewhere, we learn that a presentation has been made to the Rev. J, Harding, by the Wesleyan Sunday School Teachers of Wellington, of a handsome eight-day clock, on the occasion of his leaving the district for Wanganui. The members of the General Government do not appear to be very popular in Otago, if we are to judge , from the result of the poll at a recent election at Clutha for a seat in the Provincial Council, when the Hon. Major Richardson only polled 40 votes to his opponents S6O. The election for the Superintendency of Nelson has resulted in the return by a small majority of Mr. Curtis over Mr. Barnicoat. “ A railway to the West Coast” was the cry which secured his return. The Nelson people like Provincial Institutions well, but they like a railway better. The progress of the Colony is thus referred to by His Excellency the Governor at a dejeuner at Invercargill,-. “ When twenty years ago, J was off Stewart’s Island—l did not land—l never expected to see settlement extend so far. I thought it might reach as far as Dunedin, but to-day I find that the youngest colony is actually in some respects beyond the others, and in the vigor of youth doing more than its older relatives. In Auckland they have no railways—here I have been along a railway and arrived at a station that would not disgrace England. (Applause). Seeing

all this, I cannot but think a country founded with such energy must become one of the greatest in the world. I feel that this occasion is a great one in what I have seen in this day, and that the energy that has carried you thus far will yet make the province a wonder to others in New Zealand.”

The Otago Provincial Council elections having resulted generally in the return of candidates favorable to Mr. M‘Andrew, we suspect the Government will hesitate ■in their intention of removing him from office.

The “Evening Post” of Saturday last, reports; —“ Every sort of imported goods is considerably in excess of present wants, and more than ordinary dullness pervades business generally.” The s.s. South Australian was wrecked on her passage from Dunedin to Melbourne on the night of the 2nd inst. Passengers and crew all saved.

A fearful fire occurred at Dunedin on Tuesday night, doing damage to the amount of £40,000. The Panama mail boat had not arrived at Wellington on Tuesday morning, when Cobbs’ Coach left.