THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 292, 7 December 1872, Page 2

TH E WEE K.

t>— ■ ■ ■ A fortnight ago, he would have been a bold man who should have ventured to assert that within fourteen days so great a stir would be made in Nelson in the direction of promoting the prosperity of the province by opening up the communicaiion between the town end the inland and western districts. All the most influential men in the place have united in the endeavor to obtain that which is now acknowledged to be a vital necessity, and I cannot but think that success must attend their efforts. They are all most thoroughly in earnest; they know they have no easy task before them, that numerous obstacles have to be overcome, but they are all actuated by a determination to remove those obstacles from their path if it be within the bounds of possibility to do so, and they have every encouragement to act heartily and together, far they know that in addition to the fact that their own welfare defends upon their carrying through the undertaking successfully, they have the whole populaat their back carefully watching their proceedings, and eagerly looking for the results they all hope will arise from the enquiry that has been set on foot. The Committee, or, perhaps, it would be more correct to say, the Committees, have undertaken a very heavy responsibility, but they have done so voluntarily, with a l full sense of the grave importance of the I subject that they have taken it in hand to investigatejand with the full determination of showing that the work they wish, to see constructed is not only practicable but 'likely to prove profitable. If, in the course of their researches, they should find that they have been over sanguine — a contingency that is scarcely likely to arise — they will have done good service, in another way, for they will then be able to show that our case is hopeless,,,- at least for , the present,; and; soy put -an end to all doubt on "the : matter. It x ia "the duty ,of the Committees and one which I believe - they most fully recognise; to prepare such an elaborate and comprehensive y report ;up6n_ the question before them as shall be perfectly conclusive and shall clearly prove' either that the construction of this main artery through which it is hoped: the life\-plbpdrpf. traffic, may be made/ to now-, between the West : Coast pnlfthe^bhev side,* and^^he^tofwniof /Nelßori^oh^the/'-pth ;.wp%,;'\notJ.o^ % cbloniar point $ advantogee likely to abqrae tterefrow are not /s*#£%*"^

sufficient to justify "its being entered upon. In the latter case the.matter must .necessarily be allowed; to drop, and we shall have to look 'to some other means of improving our present condition; if the former, then, should it be deemed necessary to appeal to the General Assembly for assistance, it is for the people to see that their representatives lose no opportunity of briDgipg every possible pressure to bear upon the General Government and the Legislative to induce them to take the work in hand. It may be, however, that other means will be suggested of raising ;the requisite funds', and, if so, it is. to 1 be hoped that the interest now so thoroughly awakened will not slacken or falter in any way, but that all those concerned in the welfare of the place-will put their shoulders to the wheel and endeavor to raise themselves out of the highly unsatisfactory state in which they now are. I have devoted a considerable amount of the space at my command to this subject of late, but a mor.e important one never occupied the attention of the public, and if any apology be needed for bringing it so prominently forward, that is mine. I imagine that never was any piece of news hailed with more intense satisfaction in Nelson than that received on Wednesday last of the passengers and crew of the unfortunate City" of Newcastle having been saved. It is utterly impossible for anyFor continuation of news see fourth page. I

lfoW:-ttfi»r ; -^inW- the . feeling . oflgie-' ■ • 'women - , whQ\wepe'-;tllu| |Mirllfißuliyilr|BCuiEi'd'- ; from' "-the' Jaws rof-t^t^o^Svin^-the information ,tliat o^^ga|themßelv^«to' bg. ; |^pghad| % ' ; -#e%nlu|iepiy.- abandoned 'by-, .tbe^^flß^afc ; : ; psfib^w^by -.br^dbitDb.^j I no^ttiesf^ftj^ the ■fjtpt; of their having' gonfr * |? intd^moiiEning for'tne loved ones who they. '^fullyf believed |to.be dead, and then to hay^|ptb.e joyful newß flashed across, to rthentftlat those whom they mourrift&l were still/in thelfaridlof the living — I say again that it isventir^ly impossible for anyone to comprehend in any way whatever ;,.;what their sensations must have been on ?»iereceipt-of the glad tidings. A hardy ■sailor, who first heard the news on the arrival of his ship in our harbor, remarked within ray hearing-^" I daresay I was a , big fool, but I couldn't help turning round in my bunk and haviog a good blubber when I was told of it." . Perhaps some of us can sympathise with him. I am afraid that a hard season is in store for our agriculturists, more especially those , whose farms lie on the thirsty, Waimea Plains, owing to the long continuance of | dry weather, which is having a most harmfuleffect on the crops, many of which have come into ear prematurely, and are likely to return but a very poor yield for the time and labor expended upon raising them; . The times have not of late proved too prosperous for our farming community, and I fear that a bad seasoD, such as now seems to be in store for them, must bo attended with the most disastrous results. The Engineer-in-Chief has at last visited Nelson, and the prospects of the long talked of first instalment of the Nelson and West Coast railway being commenced are brighter than they have yet been.- Rumor is usually busy on such occasions, and is not always to be relied upon, but I have,, in the present instance, good reaspn for believing the officious^ jade when she whispers that the gentleman, whose opinions on such a subject are of do little importance, has been satisfied by the statistics that have been placed before him that there is every probabiilty of the line paying working expenses, and leaving something to credit. We all want to see the Nelson and Foxhill line prosperous, but we are not going to • be content with this, so I will propose a toast which, for once; may be allowed to supersede that to which, I believe, justice is ordinarily done on Saturday nights of " Sweethearts and Wives." Mine is . scarcely so but it has a good liouest smack of business about it. Here it is — Success to the Nelson and West Coast Railway. F.