The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1885. Waimea Election.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1547, 4 June 1885, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1885. Waimea Election.

What little the House of Represeotatives lost by the elevation of Mr Joseph Shephard to the Legislative Council it has hardly recovered by the election of Mr John Kerr. Like most other similar contests within the Nelson Provincial District, that of yesterday has been looked forward to with the keenest interest by those immediately engaged, and although the number of candidates—six —rather distorted the principles of popular representation, we must accept Mr Kerr as the choice of a fair proportion, if not of a majority, of the electors of Waitnea. The peculiarities of the successful candidate are so widely known that it would be superfluous, even if unobjectionable in other ways, to discuss them here; but it is not uninteresting nor uninstructive to notice the advocacy employed by his friends during the recent canvass. Mr Kerr’s party candidly admitted that their favorite was innocent of even the most rudimentary knowledge of politics, and confessed that he exhibited no striking proclivity for the acquisition of that knowledge. “But,” they confidently asked, “ has he not imported the best horses ever introduced to the colony? Has he not made a large fortune? Did he not, during Messrs Stout and Larnach’s visit to Nelson, drive the Ministers through the Waimeas at his own cost ?” Such is the record of the new member, and his opponents, although it may not have impressed them with the parliamentary claims of the candidate, were compelled to admit it. The honor done to Mr Shephard and the success attained yesterday by Mr Kerr bring vividly to our recollection the recent visit of the Premier to Nelson, when Mr Kerr first betrayed his political aspirations. A modern geography describes Nelson—of which Waimea is practically a part—as “a thriving manufactoring town on the west coast of New Zealand.” We question whether this description will convey to the casual reader an accurate idea of the garden of New Zealand. It certainly does not harmonise with the pleasing impression we retain of the natural beauty, social attractions and business somnolence of the picturesque city. Much more provocation of remini sconces of that favored spot is a review of the incidents of the ministerial visit we have already referred to. We can readily picture the corporation, from the occupant of the Mayoral chair io the less majestic but equally essential city scavenger, and Messrs Shephard and Kerr assisting at the disembarkation of the Premier and the Minister of Mines. We can see in our mind’s eye the triumphal procession to the principal hotel of the city, where with Mr Kerr on their right, and Mr Shephard on their left, the august visitors partook of a sumptuous repast served with a solemnity most destructive to appetite. We can follow their drive through the Waimea at the expense of Mr Kerr, and while deprecating the act we can barely refrain from congratulating the gentleman concerned upon the cemplele success of plans probably concocted during that memorable excursion. A constituency that tolerated Mr Shephard so long will not be diffi cult to satisfy, but the status of the House of Representatives will be little raised by the accession of Mr Kerr to a seat within its walls,