The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 1883. A Clerical Candidate.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 840, 12 January 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 1883. A Clerical Candidate.

The election of a member of Parliament for the Peninsula seat is not an event that would, under ordinary circumstances, have called for much comment except from Journals in the immediate vicinity of the constituency. Of the three candidates who had announced themselves —Messrs Larnach, Cutten, and Donnelly—it is not difficult to determine who would make the best representative. Mr Donnelly came forward at the general election, and made a good impression among a certain class by the speeches he delivered. He had evidently studied the text books of political science, and he possessed clearly formulated views on the main principles of government, which he enunciated with intelligence. The chief objection to him as a member of Parliament was that he had no practical acquaintance with politics, and in his recent speeches he has shown that he is deficient in stability, inasmuch that in one short year he has changed from a Ministerialist to a supporter of the Opposition. Mr Cutten was, we believe, a member of the old Provincial Council of Otago, and is chiefly notable for his ability for perpetrating villainous puns. He has, however, now retired from the contest, so that there is no need to 'canvass" his merits. Mr Larnach is, taken ,altogether, the best candidate of the three that first presented them-

selves. A shrewd man of business, with ‘ considerable experience as a 'financier, he has likewise a good deal of property in the district, and this would be a guarantee that local matters wopld be] well looked after, ! But an entirely novel interest has been imparted-to this election during the past few days by the news that Dr Moran, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin; has declared his intention of contesting the seat. Whatever else may be thought of a high dignitary of the church seeking for a place in a Democratic Assembly,''it is impossible not to admire his courage. For a man in his position to so entirely disregard precedent is conclusive proof that he must feel strongly upon some subject that he considers of vital importance to that portion ot the community of which he is the representative. What that question is is clearly stated in Dr Moran’s address. The views upon education held by both Mr Donnelly and Mr Larnach are opposed to any reform in our educational system, and it is for the purpose of obtaining some concession to the Roman Catholics, and to protest against what they think an injustice that this new candidate has come forward. Intellectually, Bishop Moran is a giant as compared with either of the other contestants for the seat, and if elected his presence in the House of Representatives would soon make itself felt. It is of course open to question whether a clergyman, whose business is to look alter the spiritual rather than the temporal welfare of the people, is in his proper element in Parliament, but if we are to inaugurate a new order of things and have ecclesiastics assisting to make laws, no one is better fitted for such a position than Bishop Moran. He has always shown a great interest in practical questions of the day, he is an able controversialist, and even those who object to his views on certain subjects cannot question his perfect sincerity and honesty of purpose. It must be remembered, however, that he has come forward with but one specific object, namely, the reform ot our education system, and should he be successful in obtaining the seat he will probably confine himself to that one subject. For this reason he will have to depend for his election on the Catholic block vote, which is scarcely strong enough to place him at the head of the poll. The fate which attended Mr Pyke’s Education Bill last session, when it was ordered to be read that day six months by a majority of twenty-one, showed that the present Parliament is not likely to pass any measure that will satisfy the demands of the Roman Catholics. This, one would have .imagined, should have convinced those who desire denominational education, that the battle they have fought for so long was lost; but they are evidently loth to accept defeat. It is not likely, as we haVe said, that Bishop Moran will be elected to the vacant seat, and though he might have made a useful member in some respects, his presence in the House would have caused a large quantity of time to be wasted in discussing a question that has practically been settled. If the Bishop should go to the poll, the result will probably be that Mr Larnach will have an easy victory, and the House will gain a really useful member.