The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1867.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 291, 9 December 1867, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1867.

• The Canterbury Press has the following, with reference to the illegality of the copper tokens which have beeu so Jong in circulation in • these colonies, and which, : -as a matter of necessity arid public con- - venience, have been universally recognised as a legal tender: — We are now experiencing the effects of the speed with which our legislators manufacture laws. A'Coinage Offences Act ' was passed during the late session of , our New Zealand Parliament, which enacts that copper tokens •shall be considered an illegal tender. As thechief part of the small change in New Zealand consists of tokens, supposed to represent the same value as. the British : coinage, a sudden check has been given to the, smallest trade transactions without any benefit accruing to, the state. The law was brought into operation too soon, for, however advisable it may be to suspend the circulation of fictitious coinage, time should have been allo wed to procure .from England a. supply of bronze coin to ..replace that which is no longer of any value.- — We hear complaints from all quarters of the ; annoyance which has been caused'by the announcement of this hasty piece of legislation. As regards the possibility of these tokens being mistaken for legitimate coin of the realm, which, we assume, must be the chief object sought to be defeated by the Act alluded to, we may .remark that we imagine few would mistake the effigy of Professor Holloway, for ■tHat of Queen Victoria. The time has not long passed when the requirements of the community necessitated the invention of a very primitive ' medium of barter, in the shape of discs of zinc or tin, stamped with the initials of their respective issuers, which were freely circulated and accepted .throughout the, country, and perhaps as -copper seems to be stigmatised as ran. obnoxious metaly and,' bronze coins ■of the 'realm a^enotyeiHorthdoiriihg, it might be as weU tb^recur to the; old /moneypannikin,' as the Maoris .were wont to call it, which at any rate -would,: be sfree from the objection taken to the alleged similarity of r the ; effigies on these' tokens 'to the 1 preselStme^ '. . f"f, t

1 ; The; benefit for the Fire Brigade,- to be given ■< by othe -Nathan,'- Troupe - to-night, will, we trust, receive that support from thp" public J"^o7^hT^"ins _ u ndoiibtedly enjiiiled.,;!.We'.learii'tlWt'a ebnsiderablenumher'of tickets' have already been, disposed of./ and. there seems every probability that the; affair will be d decided • success. We haJve been requested by Captain' Knight to intimate his wish, that the members of. the il|nga<_e;Jf J^ JE_a_l.'.afc;7J o?clQck '.-this,, .evening*, ipsteadrpj

half-past 7, as, originally arranged;! r >v:;ri ■ ■.:. ltis^idtjiatj,^ isj^^^^g^isey ia^ 'Wellington, $kI

taken up with great spirit by some of the principal merchants there. The movement is in consequence of the enormous increase of premiums charged by the old offices, some of whom even refused renewals to running policies. The example set by the Wellington people may be worthy of imitation in this community, where the same grievance undoubtedly exists, and has of late been much commented upon. His Lordship Bishop Suter held a confirmation yesterday afternoon at Christchurch. The service commenced at 3 o'clock, at which hour the church was densely crowded. One of the transepts was reserved for the candidates, the female portion of which all wore white dresses and veils. Tlie Confirmation Service was taken by the Bishop, assisted by his Chaplain, the Rev. W. H. Ewald, and the candidates, who were 42 in number, the great majority being ladies, were presented for confirmation by the Rev. G. H. Johnstone, Incumbent of Christ Church. The hymn in the Ordination Service, ' Come, Holy Ghost, eternal God,' was sung to Tallis's tune, and the Bishop gave two addresses: oue previous to the laying on of hands in reference to the rite of confirmation, and the other after the candidates had been confirmed upon the duties and responsibilities of the Christian life. The hymn 'Steep and thorny is the way' (Heidelberg) was then sung, and the final benedictiou having been pronounced by the Bishop, the ceremony was brought to a conclusion. Our readers will perceive by an advertisement which appears elsewhere, that in consequence of tho uncertainty which exists as to the time when the steamer from Wellington may arrive, it has been deemed advisable to postpone the flrst concert to be given by Madame Carandiui and her party, until Thursday evening, the Oddfellows requiring the use of their Hall on Wednesday. The firing for the Champion Prize given by the Provincial Government for competition by the successful shots in the various Volunteer Companies, commenced at 10 o'clock on Saturday morning at the Maitai Butts, and had not been brought to a conclusion when we went to press on that day. The day was hot and windy withal, and certaiuly not favorable for the purpose, which may in great measure account for the low scores made on this occasion by many of our crack shots. The prize fell for the second time to the lot of Private W. Kent, of the Waimea Volunteers, who it will be remembered, won the Champion Prize last year, and who scored 37, being followed by Private G. Elliott (No. 1 City Rifles) with 33, and Privates S. H. Drew (ditto), J. Marsden (ditto), and G. Silcock (Waimea Company) who each made 31. The scoring on this occasion showed beyond question the manifest impropriety of allowing the Cadet Companies to compete with their adult comrades, at the same ranges and target, such an arrangement being obviously uufair and discouraging to the Cadets and very tiring to the adult Companies. The Stormbird left Westport on the 7th, at 7 p.m., and arrived at Nelson at 2.45 on the following day. She experienced light S.E. winds and fine weather throughout. She brought eight passengers, and was in ballast. During the last 11 months she has been employed principally in the the cattle trade between Nelson and the West Coast, having taken 700 head of cattle and about 3000 sheep, none of the live stock conveyed by her having been lost. The Stormbird will be withdrawn from the trade for about two trips, being under charter by Mr Croker, of Wanganui.