THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, May 26, 1849.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 377, 26 May 1849, Page 50

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, May 26, 1849.

Journals heroins more necessary as men become more equal and individualism more to be feared. It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that they aeive only to secure liberty t they maintain civilization. DE TOCaUBVILLB* Of Democracy in America, vol. tv., p. 200.

The redistribution of suburban land, which had been delayed several months •on account of the uncertainty which hung over the acquisition of the Waitohi as a .port for the Wairau, commenced on Tuesday last, and terminated on Thursday. The very liberal manner in which Mr. Bell, the New Zealand Company's Resident Agent, -sought to meet the wishes and satisfy the claims of every individual landpurcbaser, •gave (he utmcflt satisfaction ; and, by the plan pursued of enlarging the sections where the land was of inferior -value, those purchasers have been made satisfied whose late orders of choice had thrown them out of nil chance of getting land of fair average value, even after the unsold orders were -struck out, and a general reselection allowed. The Moutere, we find, is the district which has received the least favour in these reselections, for we believe not a section was chosen in it except a few at the bottom of the plain ; at the far end of Glen Iti, also, several sections are untaken, but there otherwise ia little of the original survey which is now unappropriated, though much of the land has changed hands. There now remains only two things more to be done before the land question in Nelson will be finally settled— to give the resident landpurchasers, whose claims have not been already satisfied, a compensation for their losses, and to deliver the quarteracre town sections in the Waitohi. The amount of compensation is to be settled by an arbitration, and will, we expect, be proceeded with immediately, while the delivery of the Waitohi town will have to await a survey, for at present only a preliminary one of the site has been made* The remaining engagements of the Company to this settlement, when the Waitohi town -sections are distributed, will be the payment of the Trust Funds to the new board of trustees, and we shall be grievously disappointed if the Company, after making so many sacrifices to set themselves right with their -landpurchasers, should at last fail in the performance of one of their most solemn obligations.

We have often seen in the London newspapers notices of associations, which have lately met with great support from the working classes, and which, it has occurred to as, might be introduced with great benefit into this settlement— we allude to what are called Building Societies, having for their object the provision of comfortable dwellings for the industrious poor. An article from the Atlas newspaper, which we have copied into our columns, very fully explains the principle of these societies, and we should be glad to find that a perusal of it had awakened an interest in those for whom, in ibis settlement, such associations are designed. There is nothing which has more excited our surprise than the state of the dwellings of the labouring classes in Nelson, for it is no uncommon thing to see a man who possesses considerable property in stock, and who occupies a well-cultivated farm, living with his family in a hovel which is scarcely fit for pigs. These erections were in many cases put up when the circumstances of the people were not what they now are ; but while their owners have been yearly bettering their condition, to an extent they them* selves little contemplated, they seem but in

few instances to have made that important addition to their domestic comfort which a commodious and convenient dwelling would give. To those who reflect how dependent the moral character of a people is upon their social comfort and domestic decency, the substitution of neat and commodious cottages for the existing class of huts, must be viewed with interest. There is nothing more lovely, to our fancy, than a neat cottage, surrounded by a well-kept garden^ which gives always an exalted opinion of the occupier, while a wretched dwelling, surrounded only by filth, whatever may be the worldly condition of the inmates, conveys no idea but misery and brutality. Some modifications of the plan of the English Building Societies may be necessary here, but if our working friends think well of the principle, and any number of them are willing to join in putting it into practice, we shall be happy to give them all the assistance in our power. Since writing the above, we have seen by the Adelaide papers that a Building Society is about to be established in that city, and the following is part of an advertisement contained in the South Australian Register of the 28th of March :— " South Australian Building and Investment Society, in shares of £60 each. Weekly subscriptions, 3s. per share, and on every drawn share 3s. per week additional. The objects of this society are twofold ; viz., to enable its members to purchase or build houses, or to buy land, and it particularly recommends itself to the favour of persons holding property on lease with n power of ndemption, as it' gives them a certainty of being able to redeem such property sometime within six years."

The non arrival of any vessel this week from Wellington, has kept us in ignorance of the proceedings of the Provincial Council ; and, as we imagine that the amount of business before it was not very great, it is likely that by this time the sittings are more than half over, and yet the people of this settlement, who number three-eighta of the province, are up to this time ignorant of every thing which has been done, and have not been able even to procure the sight of a single Bill. Ordinances will thus be passed, the provisions of which we are totally ignorant of; and however vexatious their nature, we shall have no opportunity afforded us of expressing our disapproval of them before we are called upon to give them our obedience. And this is the sort of government we are expected to rest satisfied with for four years longer.

By a notice which we have addressed to our Wairau subscribers, it will be seen that Mr. Smith, at the school, near Pitfure, has kindly consented to receive papers (and, we may add, letters also) for the residents in the Wairau. If persons proceeding to the Wairau will have the kindness to call at the School on their way, it will be a great publio convenience, until some better arrangement can be made to communicate with that district. It appears to us, however, that the Maori constables might well be employed in conveying a regular mail between Nelson and the Wairau, for we are sure they are of little service in the town, but, as mail carriers, they would be doing something really useful for their salaries. Besides, it seems almost a farce to create magistrates for a district without giving it a constable, while the arrangement we have hinted at, by keeping a constable almost constantly in the Wairau, would perhaps for the present answer eveTy purpose.

Our subscribers are informed that the present number is the last of a quarter.

Pleasant Way of preventing Cholera.— Dr. Downing prescribes a very pleasant dietary as a preventive of cholera : — Eggs, chop, chicken, at breakfast; mutton, beef, eggs, tripe, rabbit, minced veal, tight puddings, at dinner; plain seedcake, at tea ; if luncheon or sapper be required, then a chop or a few oysters; and at intervals during the day, trine and grog at discretion. Very comfortable fare if you can get it. German Soldiers. — A German soldier seldom thought of food or rest for the night until his horse had been provided for. The noble animals themselves seemed perfectly aware of this attention on the part of their riders; and I have often been amused by seeing some of the horses of the Germans run after their masters with all the playfulness of a dog. The consequence of this attention to their horsea was, they were in condition when those of our own cavalry were dying, or in an otherwise deplorable state : this, without throwing a disparagement upon our own contrymen, I attribute to the difference of custom between the two countries. We never saw a German vidette or express furiously galloping, that we did not immediately know there was work for some one to do : while on out-post duty, their vigilance was admirable.—- CosteOo's Adventures of a Soldier. y