The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1879.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 246, 28 October 1879, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1879.

To-night the House will meet again, and the probability is that the old game of obstruction will be played by the Opposition, who, now tbat they are in a decided minority, will not be in a hurry to bring on their nocotifidence motion, while at the Bame time they are not inclined to permit the Government to bave the credit of carrying the measures of which Sir George Grey and hia party bave been talking for two years, though they have done nothing absolutely towards passing them ioto law. The report of to-night's proceedings will be anxiously looked for, as they will probably afford some clue to the action likely to be taken by the bitterly disappointed Oppositionists under the leadership of that " incarnation of sbam and shoddy," Mr Macandrew. Our telegrams refer to some rumor to the effect that a coalition Ministry is probable, Mr Macandrew and Mr Sheehan beiog admitted into the present Government, but to tbia we attach little importance, aa we cannot conceive it possible that either Mr Hall or Mr Roileston would ever consent to hold office with two such colleagues. Mbs Britten will deliver a lecture tonight on a subject to be selected by the audience, and as this is the last occasion but one on which she will apoear in Nelion, she will probably have a very full house. On Thursday next she has kindly consented to give a lecture in aid of the Trust Fund of the Temperance Hall, the subject being " The amusements ot tbe people," wben no reference whatever will be made to the religious views she holds, so that none can be offended by what will fall from her lips. This lecture has been delivered by Mrs Britten in San Francisco, and never failed to attract crowded audiences. The schooner Croydon Lass arrived in harbor to-day with a cargo of potatoes from Kaiapoi, which will be disposed of by auction by Mr Mabin on Thursday next, at the Commercial Wharf, at noon, in lots to suit purchasers. The Rev J. Leighton will deliver a lecture at the Provincial Hall to-night in connection with the Young Men's Christian Association. The subject will be, " The poet Cowper, and h a works " The Winter Evening Debating Association will meet at the All Saints' Institute this eveniDg at 7 30. Mr Hindmarsh, the Government Insurance Agent, will deliver a lecture at the Foxhill schoolroom at 7 o'clock this evening, to which admission will be free. A public tea meeting in connection with the Weßleyan Churcb will be held at the Richmond Argicultural Hall to morrow afternoon. Prior to tbe tea there will be a sale of useful and fancy work, and after it a public meeting in the Church. A correspondent sends us the following which he thinks may interest our readers : " On Friday afternoon, I set a hen on nine eggs in a box in my verandah. On the following morning, on going to look at Ler, I saw something black protruding from under ber wings, and my curiosity being aroused, I lifted her up, and to my astonishment found, in addition to the nine eggs, six little kittens' and tbeir mother who had converted tbe box into a lying-in hospital, and appeared to have secured a very careful and attentive nurse in the old hen, who exhibited unmistakeable signs of disapproval and dissatisfaction upon my attempting to remove the intruders." After a good deal of hard work, both in speaking, in which he was aided by Messrs Pitt and Hursthouse, and in canvassing; in which all the Nelson members rendered a ready assistance, Mr Acton Adams, as previously reported by telegraph, succeeded on Thursday night last in passing the -second reading tof his new Licensing Bill, providing for the equalisation and classification of licenses throughout the colony. As the division list on the second reading may prove interesting to many of our readers, we give it below:— Ayes, 33;* Adams (teller) Atkinson, Bain, Colbeck, Hall, Hamlin, Harris, Hurst, Hursthouse, Johnston, Kelly, Levin, Lundon, MCaughan, M'Lean, Moss. Ormond, Pitt, Richmond, Roileston Sheehan, Shephard, Stevens, Sutton, Swan son, Tawhai, Te Wheoro, Tole, Tomoana, Trimble (teller), Whitaker, Why te, Willis — Noes, 26: AHwright, Andrews (teller), Ballance, Barron, De Lautour, Dick, Finn, J T Kaher, George, Gisborne, Hialop, Hutchin*

son, Ireland, Macandrew, Mason, Masters, Montgomery, Murray (teller), Pyke, Russell, Saunders, Shrimski, Speight, Tainui, Thomson, Turnbull. The Wellington papers announce the death of Mrs Kenneth Wilson the wife of the Principal of the Wellington College, which took place on Saturday morning. A London telegram to the Post dated 5.3rd inst sayß:— Prices ib wool show an advance of about ld per lb, owing to a strong American demand. A further advance is anticipated at the opening of the next sales— The price of new Kent hops has opened at £14 to £16. The following special London telegram appeared in last i ight's Pos.:— Lord Hartington, addressing a large gathering of Liberals at Manchester to day, stigmatised the policy of the Governmebt as being absolutely immoral in the tendency of its effects upon the people at large. Uc added that it had not even the merit of consistency, and was destitute of anything which could command the political sympathy of the other side. It is perhaps not generally known that one of the grievances which led to tbe resignation by Mr. Tomoana of bis seat in tbe Hall Ministry wns that he could not obtain the use of one of the Ministerial residences and a iarge staff of European Officials, Scu.—Post The Sydney correspondent of the A. Z. Times writing of the Exhibition, says :— Now I am writing on art subjects, I would call attention to the contributions of pictures and water color drawings by New Zealand artists. First of all they are so badly hung, and ia such bad lights, aud so scattered about that it is almost impossible to tell what they are, no numbers on most of them, and some still about the floor of the Exhibition—one a notable work of Mr J. C Iloyte's a water-color of Otira Gorge. Who is to blame In this of course I do not know, but I certainly think the pictures should have been all collected together and placed in tbe gallery. * * * * * * * Mr John Gully,- of Nelson, who has been called the " Turner of the Australias " certainly deserves theappellation. Histwodrawings. the "Needle Peak, Milford Sound, (stormy)," and the companion, are wouderf ully worked, and would in themselves be sufficient evidence to stamp Mr Gully a great artist. His " Valley of the Cass " is most beautifully handled, and the distant mountain range is lit up with the rays of the setting sun. whilst the snow-clad peaks sparkle with immeasurable tiuts of brilliant hues. Ido not like his " Lake Wakatipu " so well ; it appears a trifle unfinished, but this may be on account of the position in wbich it is placed. The Post of last night says:— The steamer Agnes was employed early this morning taking tests from the Lyelt's Bay end of the cable. The weather, however, became too rough to allow her to continue working, and towards noou she returned to Worser Bay. The position of matters in respect to the re pairing at the present moment is briefly as follows:— "Both the White's Bay and, the Lyell's Bay cod.arc buoyed, and the five miles of spare cable on board the Agnes has been j increased by three miles of good cable recovered. The original fault, which the expedition is intended to rectify, is between the Lyell's Bay end and the shore, and bad tbe weather continued fine it was intended to underrun to it, and cut it out today. This will be done as soon as the weather permits, and then the spare cable will be joiued on, and paid out to the White'a Bay cud. The buoys are now about five mile apart. It is rather curious that the good cable recovered is the old cable of 1866, whereas some of the comparatively new line, laid by the Luna three years ago, was found to be entirely divested of its outer sheathing, which appeared to be eaten away by chemical action, and not by friction."