WEEKLY WHISPERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 210, 5 September 1896, Page 2

WEEKLY WHISPERS.

A chiefs amang ye takin' notes, And faith he'll prcnt it. —Burns Thero arc indications that oven if Nolson fails to securo a real mining boom, something may bo done towards it.

An active Prospecting Association is abont to be started — with shilling subscriptions probably— and tho "Snowflakes " may bo asked to givo tho young thing a lift with a bonefit. Objectors say that Prospecting Associations are of no uso whatover, and that " if the gold is thero ifc will bo found anyhow." Tho averago guileloss prospector who hires himsolf out to find reofs and alluvial deposits iseonis to have inspired a profound distrust in his bona Jidcs. Ho is supposod to bo giveii to accepting the billet with its attendant wages, and then to takeing the tent provided for him, and pitching it com fortably in some lonely imd lovely spot, there remaining at ease till the Associa-

tion oan pay him no longer. He is also accused of hiding his discovorios till tho Association has *' busted up," and then floating a company on his " own hook." Mr Dunn, of West Australia— Wealth of Nations Dunn— tried something like that, bufc it did not come off. Ho appears to havo worn down ono Association whioli equipped him, and then to havo posed as a discovorer on his own behalf solely ; but tho West Australian Supremo Court soon mado him share profits with tlie mon who had employed him. * * #

Of course if any Nelson Association is so soft as to let itself bo over-reached, there is nothing more to say. In tho first plaoe the average swag-humping, illiterate beachcombing variety of prospector is not wanted. The Association is not going to be rim for electioneering purposes, henco it is not likely to lay itself out to find work for the unemployed. That game has boeu played out. But, there are men who are trusted and respected, and in whose hands the interests of the Association would be quite safe, and it is these who should be engaged. If wo are to hold back and do nothing because human nature happens to be faulty, we shall never get out of the ruck, "If the gold is there ifc will be found " is a fallaoious sort of comfortabout as oomforting as the knowledge to the starving horse that the gmss is

growing for him, but is not quite ready for use as food. The gold is there, hut. .'.'j.*?. it has not yet been found— and we should % . ;£: flnd it. And it would be fatuous to aban- AX\ fe don all effort beoause human selfishness,L'L' ..f? greed, and unscrupulousness are factors -'--«'_ to be reckoned with. -?•-. * * * X "X Poor old Nelson wants a boom of some •""*-* A sort, and somedaye day her unexampled | sources of wealth will be availed of. But '■ at present very little is done, and we "i thirst on the brink of a stream. Wo need organisation, and not only a Pros- , ' pecting Association but also a Progress Association to boom tho place. Yearly many visitors come straggling into the district; but they only look around and go away after a few days, having proved of as little real value to the community ' as tho cheap tripper who comes over for a few hours. We have magnificent deer shooting, unequalled trout streams, and abimdance of small game from quail to sparrows. We still have splendid scenery— forest, and water, and sky — though we have permitted the picturesque sand-hills— the mkon ditre of the Rocks Road— to be fenced off, and though the ruthless fire is yearly destroying the bush. Bnt what effort do we make to guide the visitors to the hffls where the deer may be stalked, to the streams where the trout may be taken, to the sylvan glade where, far from the madding crowd, the tourist may spend a calm but happy fortnight ? The tourist may avail himself of other places in New Zealand by cheap fares and travelling facilities; but if he wants to get to Nelson ho is blocked on all sides. Nelson is out of the way of traffic ; yet the masts of the Sydney steamors, passenger laden, may be seen on any clear day with a telescope, passing Cape Farewell for Wellington—a stone's throw from us I If one wants to come here from the great centres, he must go round three sides of a triangle instead of making a bee line from angle to angle. Why should not tho Nelson traffic be served by a tender to the Spit instead of travellers being compelled to go to Wellington first 1 Of course it will be said that the traffio does not warrant it ; but it is the other way about. The traffio does not come because it is driven away by disabilities. « « « Again, why ahould there not be an assooiation here on the lines of Cook's agencies — a paying one too? Each year we have deer stalking, shooting, fl-hing. Why not form a syndicate to personally conduot sporting tours? Speoially appointed persons might seoure licenses, guide parties to hunting lodges, provide all comforts and conveniences, and see that the traffio interests of the distriots are looked after, and by that means the travel to the city should be increased a hundred fold. We also want a cable-tram, electric tram, or switch-back railway to the top of the Botanical Reserye Hill or the Zig Zag, so that tbe magnificent scenery of the distriot may be viewed without trouble, Suoh i a line would pay "from the jump" it we oould but systematise, regulate, and i conserve the tourist traffic, whioh is ours i by rights. All these matters, however, are i too large to be dealt with comprehensively : in one day, so " MoßFussilite " intends to • lay himself out to ventilate them for all l they are worth.

All gooi French cooks are supposed to wear thi decoration of the cordon bleu, aod the term has become generio to imply good cooks. Originally, however, the cordon bleu was worn only by women ; and it dates baok to Madame de Maintenon, That frail, but notable dame took great interest in the State Sohooi for girls at St, Cyr. All the lassies wore ribbons of different colours to indioate their olasses, and those who were trained in cookery were distinguished irom their companions by a blue ribbon, * * * Here is an interesting fact about the Roentgen rays :— A prisoner afc Dundee, Scotland, recently complained of being in great pain, and declared that he had BWallowed his false teeth. The authorities of the jail doubted his story, and examined the prisoner with fche aid oi the new X-rays. The mysterious light revealed the teeth just where the owner said they were, and the surgeons soon cut them out. It subsequently turned out that he had stolen them, and that they consequently were not a good fit. * * * A striking story of the civil war in America is told in the Chicago " TimesHerald" by General Doubledav:— "An officer of the 6th Wisconsin Kegiment walked up to Colonel Dawes, who was in command— G'oloiul Bragg was in Washington on crutohes. The officer was very erect and very pale. Dawes and Doubleday both thought he was coming with a report or to receive orders. But he waa nob. He had a favour to ask. " Colonel, ' he said to Dawes " will you tell the folks at home I died as a man and a soldier should?" Then he unbuttoned his coat, His whole side was shot away. It was his last effort. He died standing." * * _

The calm assumption of the oable correspondent is sometimes amusing. He always calls any people who may be temporarily opposed to the British, "rebels.' The Matabele were " rebels," though who ever made them British subjeots no ono knows, and now the Zanzibar followers of Khaled the usurper are "rebels" too. One "rebel"— a Boer -retorted the other day to a boast tbat the sun never set on the British .Umpire, that the orb of day could not afford to do so, as the British would be up to some trioks as soon as night fall. MoFHSSILITE.