Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1881.

We publish to-day a letter from the chairman of the 88-Valley School Committee, which ia deserving of some notice at the hands. of the Education Board, whose actions it 1 ferirtclsep. There tire two complnintß made — first, that the meetings of the Board are not public ; and next, that no record is kept of the votes given by individual members; With regard to the first, there is very much to be paid on both sides. That it would be an advantage to the public to know the greater portion of what takes place at the Board's meetings there cau be little doubt ; but there is this to be said on the other hind, that, of necessity,' very much of 8 purely personal character comes before them, and ; has frequently to be discusspd pretty freely before a decision can be arrived- at. This would be checked if the representatives of the press were present, and the result would probably be harmful to the interests of education m the district. This objection, however, cannot apply to the publication of the division lists, which would inform the public pf how those who represent i hem at the Board are acting, although we can quite see': that members might object to their votes being placed on record unless e.qunl publicity, is given to the reasons by which they are acfuated. We are distinctly of opinion 'that the division lists ought to be published, and if this cannot be done without throwing open the meetings to the representatives of the press?, then this latter course should be pursued, notwithstanding the numerous inconveniences by which it might be attended. Our correspondent charges the Board with: haying acted m a manner " vacillating, procrastinating and highly injurious" to " the interests of the 88 Valley School. These are serious charges, which should not toe made unless he who prefers them is prepared to support them by evidence. A meeting of the Volunteer Reception Committee was held last night, at which there were present— Major-General Davidson (m the chair), the Bishop of -Nelson, Dr Boor, Captain Webb, Messrs Ellis, Bunny, Block, T. Mackay, B. West, R. Richardson, Pratt, Stallard, -Roberts, Hacket, and Andrews. The Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting, also letters, from Messrs Buckeridge and: Menary, regretting their inability to attend, and stating their willingness to aid m every possible manner, and to give the same subscription as last year ; also a letter from Mr J. Mackay, enclosing a cheque for £2 2s. On the motion of the Bishop of Nelson, seconded by Mr Ell.iß,,ifc was resolved, "That the meeting, finding there is a sufficient balance from last year to meet the requirements of the actual reception ot the Volunteers, resolve to employ its organisation as before for the purpose of making a collection amongst the citizens of Nelson to increase the prize fund of the Association's meeting, and thereby, to increase its attractions to the visiting Volunteers." Carried.— Proposed by Dr. Boor, seconded by Mr T. Mackay, and carried unanimously, ".-That any money collected as suggested j by i the; previous: resolution :proposedby the Bi'shbp of Nelson be devoted to special prizes from the citizens of Nelson." It was resolved ,to iequest the following ' gentlemen to canyass'tbe districts named: — Messrs^ Black aid- Twist," Bridge-street; Lieut. Simpson, the Port; Messrs Topliss and Bird, Trafftlgar-atteefc North; Lieut.

Paynter, Stoke; Captain Malcolm, Richmond and Appleby; Captain Frauklyn, Brightwater; Mr Sadd, the Wood; Messrs Hunter and Smith, Colling wood-street; Mr F. N. Jones, Hardy-street; Mr Hunter Brown, Nile-street East; Dr Boor, Trafalgar street South and Bishopdale; Mr D, Barnett, Wakapuaka. The Baths on the Eel Pond reserve have been leased to Mr Butler by the Government for JEIS a-year. Tiurr has been imported by T. R Hodder & Co. per Anazi to the order of Messrs SnoVden Bros., of Brightwaterj an 8-horse power agricultural locomotive, manufactured by Ransome Situs, and Head, of Ipswich, fitted v/iih all the modern improvements, including two of Speed's sparkcatchers, compensating gear, reversible action, and winding drum with feo yards of wire rope attached, bo that Bhould the engine be uuablte lo work on soft ground the rope is attached to a tree or post 60 yards distant and the engine hauled along. The B»me firm have imported a steam threshing machine from Ilornsby and Sons. This is the only, one of the kind m Nelson province, and the makers hope that it will give such .satiefaction as will lead to further orders. It is sent as tlie very best they bad make, the principal advantages being its extra large sieve* and the elevating cups for c^yinglne grain being larger than 'usual. There is also attached to it atan extra expense of £20 a aelf- feeding apparatus by which n great saving of labor cUn be effected. . AnVoSb wishing for a drink of really good water should pay Wellington a visit. The Po>t says:— The water from the reservoir, never good at the best, has, during the last few days become positively disgusting. In color it is of a dirty brown, and leaves a thick black muddy sediment In the bottom of any receptacle it may be allowed to stand m for a few minutes . Citizens who love their morning bath almos{ d're^d lb get into the filthy liquid^ nWI thtfe care not to stir, it up more than they can help. If allowed to stand over night m a" jug the water, actually becomes putrid, and throws off a stench as bad as stale eonpsuds or cabbage water It is by no means pleasant to contemplate that, as the summer advances and the bupply m the reservoir gets lower, the Water will be come st i,l.l more impure. The Post of Wednesday says:— lt may be we.l to add a few words of further explanation as to the resignation of Mr Bryce, which is still incomprehensible to many people. We understand that the direct and immediate cause of Mr Bryce'a resignation was as follows :— He proposed to the Cabinet ' that the advance on Parihaka, the military occupation of that place, atsd Ihfe arrest of Te Whiti, all of Which he had for some time been urging upon the Government, should take place on the occasion of the monthly meeting at Parihaka, which will be held on the 17th iustant. The other memebers of the Ministry disapproved the adoption of this course) and we believe Mr Bryce then put it as his ultimatum that the only alternative was either to agree to his [recommendations or to arcept his resignation. His colleagues were most reluctant to lose his valued cooperation and counsel, but on this particular point they too held strong opinionsi deeming the Government bound to. proceed on the lines indicated by the West Coast Commissioners antf sanctioned by Parliament, and to abßtain fronl any aggressive action unless absolutely provoked by some fresh circumstances. They did not conceive such circumstances had occurred, therefore felt compelled to decline taking the strong step urged upon them by Mr Bryce, which m their opinion involved danger of warlike collision. Mr Bryce accordingly tendered bis resignation. Such we have every reason to believe is the true version of this unexpected occurrence. The A.Z. Times of Wednesday says ;— The result of the election yesterday for the Nelson suburbs has again placed Mr A. S. Collins m Parliament, and has also, we think, given a good man for the country. It is so long since Mr Collins retired from politics, after a comparatively brief connection with them, that he has dropped out of political remembrance. Those> however, who do know will recollect that he took his seat as a staunch Provincialist, but subsequently changed his views, and ardently supported abolition. He held a prominent position m the Stafford party, and gave considerable promise as a rising politician, so much so that he was on one or two occasions mentioned m connection with a seat on the Government Benches. He was one of the very few, including Mr Reader Wood and Mr Gillies, now Judge Gillies, who persistently opposed Mr Vogel's public works policy, and during that notable session, was remarkable for bis bitter attacks on Mr Yogel and Mr Fox, which drew telling retaliation from them. Mr Collins is a highly educated gentleman, and was distinguished as an athlete m his younger days. Personally he is very popular, is a moderate Conservative, and will generally support the policy of the present Ministry. As appears from our telegrams elsewhere, he secured a substantial majority over his opponent, Mr A. Harley. A Hawera telegram says : — The news of the Hon. Mr Bryce's resignation, created great sensation. There is only one feeling, aDd that is of regret that one of the bestNa tive Ministers the colony has ever ba'l should have felt compelled to resign his portfolio, after having done so much to settle the native difficulty. It is generally felt that if the policy of bowing and scraping to Te Whiti is carried much further, the results will be disastrous to the whole colony, but more particularly to this coast. A private teleerana from Mauritius to Dunedin dated December 30, says sugars i have risen 50 per cent per ton. I