The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1884. The Coming Election.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1270, 3 June 1884, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1884. The Coming Election.

The election of a member ot Parliament to fill an extraordinary vacancy is not as a rule an event which causes much excitement outside of the locality immediately interested, and had it not been that during the last few days negotiations have been carried on with the view of getting Sir Julius Vogel to contest the Ashburton seat the battle about to take place here would have passed off unnoticed except in the constituency itself. There has been a good deal of vagueness in the rumors' that have been flying about concerning the negotiations we have referred to, but we presume we may now take it for granted that the ex-Agenl-General is coming forward. Previous to Sir Julius’s name being mentioned, three candidates had presented themselves, namely, Messrs Wason, Purnell and Jolly. The chances of the last-men-tioned of being elected are so infinitesimal that it is scarcely worth while discussing them. His speech at the Town Hall showed that his political ideas are of that crude kind one might expect from a man in his rank of life, and although he may poll a few votes j among those of his fellow laborers, who I are a little more ignorant than himself, we have too high an opinion of the general intelligence of this district to believe that he will meet with anything but the most meagre support. Each of the other candidates Has addressed the constituents, and the electors are therefore in full possession of their views on the important political questions of the day. Mr Wason is a gentleman who is socially speaking eminently popular, and in addition to this he enters on the campaign with a certain advantage over his local opponent. It will be within the memory of all that at the general election Mr Wason was returned as representative for Wakanui, but was afterwards unseated on the petition of the present member for that constituency. This result was brought about, not by any fault of the candidate himself, but through a mistake of one of the election officials, so that he was deprived of his seat in the House solely upon a legal technicality. Now, nothing raises up sympathy for a man so much as his having been made an innocent victim of the law, and we think that Mr Wason will secure as many votes on account of his past misfortune as he will because his political opinions are in accord with those who support them. We are quite aware that sentimental considerations should not enter into a question of this kind, but while human nature is

what it is we must recognise that these things are important factors in determining the result of popular elections. On the other hand, we have to take into account the fact that since he last wooed the suffrages of the people Mr Wason has entirely changed his views on politics. At the general election he declared himself in favor of the present Ministry, but now be is ready to fight under the banner of Mr Montgomery, whose watchword during the next session is, as far as we can make it out, -to be “ decentralisation.” These sudden changes of opinion always arouse suspicion, and it has been pretty averred that Mr Wason’s conversion is due to personal feeling as to a certain district railway in which he has shown considerable iiterest. We will not, however, concern ourselves with motives, but in hts speech at Methven the candidate showed only too plainly that, like every convert to a 1 new creed, he is not very sure of the | ground he is walking on—in short, he , finds it difficult to give a reason for the > faith that is in him. All that we can ■ gather from his address is that he is in i favor of separation between the two islands of the colony, that he is averse ' to further borrowing, that the idea of f federation with Australia is premature, and that the raising of the railway grain tariff by the Government was unjust. As to his eccentric suggestion that our railways might be made to pay if the fares were reduced to a minimum and that the same rate be charged irrespective of the distance travelled, Mr Wason has explained that he only meant this as a jest, although it is not easy to see the point of it. Let us - hope that it was in a similarly jocular spirit that he stated his intention to vote for a land tax, if proposed by the , Opposition, although he objected to such an impost, for the purpose of turning the Ministry out. Truly it , may be said of this candidate, ,as it > was said of a certain Scotch editor, ) “ he jocks wi’ deeficulty.” We wish, i however, to do every justice to Mr 1 Wason, and we honestly confess that ' we think him to be better than he speaks. Lately he has shown himself very sensitive to criticism, a decided weakness on the part of any man who aspires to hold a public position. In this morning’s issue of our local contemporary there appears an advertise- ■ ment signed by Mr Wason in which he . attempts to answer some strictures we passed upon a letter he wrote recently : to some Otago settlers regarding the Waimea Plains railway. The assertion he makes concerning a conversation he alleges to have had with a representative of this journal is, to put it mildly, a freak of the imagination on the part of the candidate, for the simple reason that up to . the period referred to, the representative had not seen the letter, and could not therefore pass an opinion upon it. As .to the charge brought against us to the effect that our columns have been placed at the disposal of one of the candidates for the purpose of influencing the election, it is so contemptible that we shall not attempt to refute it. A little Saxon word of three letters would best define Mr Wason’s conduct, and he will do his cause but little service by making assertions for which there is not the slightest shadow of a foundation. We do not regard him as a great star in the political firmament, and his recent change of views does not appear to have improved Ijim, but as to feeling the “ malice ” • towards him, which he imputes to us the idea is absurd. Should the electors place him : at the head of the poll, w'e should say they would choose a representative who would no doubt do his duty to his constituents, but whose influence in the House would not be very great. Iff; he would take our advice we woul<J j i

counsel him to fight the battle fairly and honorably, and not resort to tactics unworthy of an English gentleman —a title that we had hitherto considered applicable to Mr Wason, whatever our opinion might be of his ability as a politician. We had intended to speak of the other two candidates who have declared themselves, Sir Julius Vogel and Mr Purnell, but exigency of space compels us to defer our remarks till another issue.