THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1665, 17 September 1887, Page 2

THE GENERAL ELECTION.

THE NOMINATIONS.

ASHBURTON.

At noon yesterday nominations of candidates f<jr the Ashburton seat were made at the Courthouse. There was a large attendance, the room bting crowded.

The Returning Officer, Mr J. B. Colyer, opened the proceedings by reading the writ. He then called for nominations.

Mr D. Biok sad that he very mnch regretted that the duty he had been oalled. upon to parform. on that oooaalon had not fallen to the lot of an abler man — to a mm who, at least, had had some experience m addressing publio meetings. However, when a man engaged m a good, worthy, and noble cause, the Bame difficultiea did not present themselves that would occur to him m a bad one. There was not the ability required whioh enabled a man to m*ke a good case out of a bad onp, and to mislead the orowd by eopbisms, whioh seemed conclusive enough when attention was merely paid to words, but when analysed were " bunkum." -This ability often, as t hey were well aware,' fell to tbe lot of the learned profession — the members of ihe Bar. He had no such task to perform, as he had only to state facts to remind them of some of Mr. Walker's attributes as a member* of Parliament, m order that they might ace that they would be doing their duty to themselves, their children, and their country, by recording their votas on the polling day, m favor of so worthy a oanI didata. Mr Walker was a gentleman irho ' aWsys had their interest at heart, who never omitted an opportunity, of benefiting them when the occasion offered, who they all knew waß listened to with the greatest reßpeot and deference-, who always oarried weight by the suitability of his suggestions, and who was looked ' npon as an authority by his colleagues on difficult points. If he was not an orator, if he had not the power of carry ing his audience with him by saying a gooddeal, aod by meaning little, he had, ; however, the talent that should recommend every man to popular favor — the power of saying little and meaning muoh, - and carrying his point by the soundness of bis case, and the clear and able Intellect he brought to bear on it. When Mr Walker oame before them three' years ago, he pledged himself aa a follower of the S tout-Vogel Government, 'reserving to himself, &b he did now, tht right of dlffuiing with them on points that would be detrimental to his constituents. They all knew he had fulfilled hia pledge. T«ke for instance the Charitable Aid Aot Amendment Bill, In which he had recorded his vote against the Government. He had not feathered his nest as most of the members of the Bar had done m the Old Country, who make parliamentary' honors the stepping stones for their own aggrandisement. Now let them consider what Mr Purnell had done for them. He o*me out as a three cornered man (laughter) for Wakanui some five or six years ago. What were his viewa at that time? Did h.9 tell them at that time that the education of the State was too expensive? No, lie got some 70 odd votes on that occasion. It would be within their memory that a seoond election was held immediately afterwards. He oame out to Pendarves again, leotutiog the people on behalf of Mr Saunders, and telling hia supporters, three m number, to vote for tbe latter gentleman. They all knew perfectly well what abuse the Roman Catholics were subjected to, and the bloofcvote on that ocoaaion. (Hisses. J Mr Brick deprecated the conduct of some of the audienca, and continued: — Now, Mr Parnell would have the Eduoation Aot altered. He patted them on the back for their fine plucky. spirit m upholding their religious convictions and consoientiona principles, and aaid he would be m favor of giving them State aid for their sohoolfl. What was it for t To try if the illiterate fools he hid been so fond of painting them would put him into Parliament. The offer bad not c >me from serious lips, They hurled the favor back, and said they would not become a prey to his blandish. mentß. Mr Purnell bad also, with his voice and pen tried to create disturbances between two respectable sections of the community, to one of which he (Mr Brick) was proud to belong, and he here wished to accord hia warmest thanks to the Orangemen of the Ashburton Oounty, for the kind and sensible manner m which they had always treated the Catholics, despite Mr Purnell's efforts to enkindle smouldering embers which should remain m oblivion for ever. He had now addreßßed tbe intelligent electors of Ashburton, and he had contrasted, as far a* he was able, the respective merits of tbe two candidates. It was not necessary for him to Bay more on behalf of their respected and worthy candidate. He had much pleasure m proposing Mr William Campbell Walker as a fit and proper person t i represent the Ashburton district In the House of Representatives.

I Mr F. T. Mayo seconded the nomination. He had known Mr Walker for 20 years, and daring that time that gentleman had borne his full share of publio duties on Road Boards and m other offices. He referred to Mr Walker's oareer m the County Council, Under Mr Walker's Chairmanship there nas no man so lowly but would get a fair hearing by that body. In conclusion, he reminded the eleotors that a tried and faithful servant was better than half-a-dozen nntrled men.

Mr J Keir said that It was his duty to propose another candidate, bnt like Mr Brick he wished the doty had devolved on abler hands than his. Both Mr Brick and Mr Mayo had spoken of Mr Walkers action on looal bodies, bnt he (Mr Keir) did not see what that had to do with the question. This question was whether the electors would have increased taxation or retrenchment. Of course, if any elector desired to pay increased taxation, well and good, but what be (Mr Keir) and otber electors objected to was having thla inct eased taxatiou forced upon them Mr Brick had Introduced the Question of Home Rule and of Education six yean ago, but these had nothing whatever to do with the present election. At that time education did not cost the excessive and enormous aura that it now did. Even if Mr Purnell had changed his mind m regard to this question, they had the authority of a leader on the other side, Sir Robert Stout, that it was only foolg and dead men who never changed their opinions, fie did not agree' with all Mr PurneU'a views, bnt on bread principles he was m aooord with him. fie denied that Mr Walker when returned three years ago had been returned to support a Stout- Vogel Ministry. There was go such combination then, Mr Walker had been returned to support Yogel, and he had done it, fie (Mr Keir) was what was known as a Radloal, and he had a great sympathy with Sir R. Stout, but ai regarded Sir Julius Yogel he had no sympathy with him, never had, and never would have. The Stout- Vogel Government was a moat iniquitous oomblnation of extravagance and ridioulons experiment*. He alluded to the side issues whioh had been raised, which he Bald were merely red herrings drawn across the track to distraot the attention of eleotors from real matter at point, fie was a Freetrader to the back* bone. Protection was "bunkum*' and " rot." The Government told them that Pre taction would raise wages, This was bosh and bunkum. They were told they must not go by books whioh had been written 30 years ago, but for his part he would go by John Stuart Mill rather than Eye thoustnd Vogels ox fifty thousand Howlands It would be iust as reasonable to argue that two blacks made a white aa to argue aa the Ministerialists were doing on this iDittar of Frotsjtlou. It oaf

been suggested that Mr Purnell, if re turned, would not keep his promises. This insinuation must have come from the lower classes on the other Bide. (Groans •nd hisses.) Anyone who knew anything of Mr Parnell professionally knew that he was an honest man, and if he were returned Mr Walker himself would be the first to admit that he would sot ; honestly and straightforwardly. All Mr PurneU's supporters had the highest respeot and esteem for Mr Walker as a gentleman ; bnt they oould not brln? themselves to agree with the policy of the party with which he waa associated. He (Mr Keir) wished to say that Mr PurneU's rfopportera intended fighting this . election fairly and straightforwardly. He had muoh pleasure In proposing Mr Charles William Purnell as a fit and proper per■on to represent; the ABhburton constituency m Parliament. Mr J. Dent seconded the nomination. fie spoke at some length, maintaining that the Issue before ihe electors was whether they were going to snbmit to Increased taxation, or whether they were going to Insist on retrenchment. The Returning Officer called for a show of hands with the following result:— Walker 91 Parnell 33 The result was reoelved with applause. Mr W. 0. Walker, who waa received with applause, said that he would like to ■ay a few words. He would not detain them' long because he would have another opportunity of addressing them It was only due to them, and to himself to lay how very men obliged he felt to them f or according bim their support m such a , decisive proportion. He felt confident j that the result jnst announced waß a pretty fair index of the remit on polling day (cheers). He felt this confidence because the cause he was fighting for was a> good one. In the pesent contest he waß to a certain extent placed at a disadvantage, because while he stated whom he would follow, the gentleman who was opposing him had not told them who were his leaders or what party he would attach himßelf to. Therefore all he (Mr Walker) could do was m the direction of criticising hie opponent's statements and not, as he would have liked, dlaousslng broad principles and party measures. Three . years ago he stated what course he proposed to adopt if he were returned. He said that there were men coming forward l who would be the nucleus of a strong and useful party Sir Robert Stout and [ Sir Julius Yogel were two of them He had pledged himself to support them and ' he had done so within the bounds of ' reasonable discretion. No one could say ' that he was a blind follower ofthe Ministry, j bat -as long as they maintained their ' course of studying all the interests of the j colony he would give them all the sapport m hia power. Ihe previous Government had not been one that considered all the ' Interests of the colony, and if the present 1 l administration were not restored to office ( it meant the return of a North Island c Government, or one that had only one or l two interests at heart. This he need ' scarcely remind them would be a calamity l to this part of the country. They felt the * evil effect of such an administration three I years ago, when the Atkinson party made l use of their power to tax the farmers of J Canterbury by means of the Railway Tariff, Some of them might have for- j gotten this, but it was just as well that ' they should bear it m mind because several J t ot Major Atkinson's henchmen were a threatening, should the Opposition gain l them office, with another increase of the c grain freights— holding the threat up, aa * it were, as a rod to flog them with for * their consistent support m the past of the j Btont- Vogel Government The threat had j been put m force onoe and it rested with J the electors whether or not It should be * put m force again. Mr Purnell said that j he belonged to no party and bad no J leaden. It would be just as well to see ' what this implied. In 1884 a cry of a ' new party waa raised and matters pro- ] grossed so far that Mr Thompson was - deputed to move an amendment J and form a Government, but here ' he egreglously failed, and the Atkinson 1 regime made Its reappearance, with, how ' ever, one or two new men m it, m order i to blind the country and dispel tbe lm- ; prettion that it was the old Government ' ■gain, Supposing a number cf men like 1 Mr Parnell were returned aid formed a \ Ministry it would be found that Major Atqinson would be In some corner of it. ■ These old politicians died very bard and \ unless some such measure as the Japanese " happy despatch " were adopted here to dispose of these useless old dogs, he did ' not see how they could be got rid of. He ' trusted that Major Atklnßon would not be given any more ohances, but ' that the present Government would be sent back with a substantial majority, became tbe power of a Ministry for good ' was very much neutralised when it had but » bare majority. The present Government had a good record. They had encouraged the farming industry, whioh Major Atkinson's administration had done so much to depress. They had assisted greatly m the development of tbe gold industry. They had laid the foundations of enormous prosperity by their encouragement In regard to developing onr coal fields — a source of wealth whioh, without doubt, wpuid m time, elevate New Zealand to the proud position of mistress of the Bonthem Sess. To the present government belonged the credit of being the first to practically assist In the development of an Industry, whioh was of so vast importance to this country. In every way the present Ministry bad done their best, and bad considered all tin interests of tbe eclony. He was very much astonished to find that one of the wisest and most statesmanlike workß of the Ministry — the small settlement scheme — bad drawn down upon It the v als of wrath of the opposition press and candidates. He considered Mr Balance deserved the highest commendation (no no). At any rate they would admit that if Mr Ballance'a action was wron?, it waa wrong m a good cause. There was no better canae than to settle people on the land and by the Ministers wise and beneficlent action, the unemployed difficulty had been met, and happy homes had been created. What more could a Minister do ; what more oould a country wißh? Then they were told the question before the country wss taxation as against retrenchment. Was that putting It fairly ! (" Yes" "No") He mainteined that it waß not a fair way of putting it The present Ministry had done wonders m effecting retrenchment, and any one who studied the figures m a fair and honest spirit would see that a satisfactory commencement had been made p was easy for the Opposition tp talk of cutting eff 10 per cent all round, and " packing " men wholesale. They would no donbt effeot " retrenchment " by this means but Injustice and hardship < wonld be Inflicted. The present Govern ment bad avoided all that. They had remodelled the service an I placed It on a simpler and more effective basis. What did Mr Parnell propose In this matter of retrenchment? He did not propose any thing definite. He had certainly said that he thought the Governor's salary and the honorarium might be reduced, but so did he (Mr Walker) and so did nearly everybody. He referred to the measure which had been passed by the present Government, enacting that when there were two sessions m the year, the honorarium should aot ■be paid for each as had formerly been the caee. That was surely an earnest of sincerity m the matter. Mr Walker then went on to refer to Mr PurneU's candidature, which he thought was not unconnected with an endeavor made by Mr Purnell to establish a branch of the Political Reform Association m * Ashburton. He bad failed to establish this Association, but be had found a few Unartdppirltjw^bßd given him, suffi-

c:ent backbone to start on his candidature He had beeu told that Mr Purnell was the representative m Aphburton of the Christchurch Political Rpform Association, (A Voice : ' 'It's false,") and he knew that those gontlemf-n took a gr<at deal of interest m the conntry elections. He had received a circular from them, catechising him, but what two or three gentlemen Bitting m a Grain Agency building at Christchurch had to do with a matter which was simply ono between him and the eleotors he did not know, aud he considered it the greatest p : ece of presumption, pylifclodly speaking, he had ever heard of. Mr Walker m conclusion said that ho woald take an opportunity of again addressing the electors before the polling day.

Mr Purnell who was also received with applause, aaid that on Monday week they would be asked to say "Yes or "No" to certain definite financial proposes made by the Ministry ; whether they would submit to £325,000 extra taxation (a voice : " No.") It waa all very well to Bay " No " but he was only stating patent facts, as they would find if the? took the trouble to read " Hansard " and the last Financial Statement The Government had been defeated on those proposals and had appealed to the country. If the electors returned a majority of Government supporters, it would be simply taken to mean that the country endorsed the financial proposals of th 9 Ministry. It would mean more ; it would also mean that they consented to a continuance of the policy of leskless borrowing and spending, which had be ;n | going on dnring the last seventeen years. I He maintalaed that before another penny :of taxation should be imposed tbere should be drastic retrenchment and the system of Government simplified. They shculd stop borrowing and keep their annual expenditure within their Income. It was because he desired soch. a pilicy that he was before tham th^t day. — Mr Putnell then went on to deal with Mr Brick's remarks concerning him. He regretted that any elector should hold such views m regard to him. Had Mr Brick instead cf accepting the statements made m the slanderous effusions of anonymous correapondenta of the newspapers, come to him and aßked his views he would have fonnd them very different to what he (Mr Brick) supposed. The letters to which he referred were most contemptible. He had not replied to them because it waa beneath him to enter into a correspondonae with these anonymous slanderer who put words into hiß mouth be had never uttered, and imputed to him articles he had never written. Referring to Mr Brick's remarks about considering the Catholics illiterate fools, Mr Purnell said that m all hiß life he had never said or evea thought such a thine. Some of the heet friends he Had m the world w^re TrUh Citholicß. He defied anyone to say that he had ever spoken or written against any man on account of his religioua views. He accorded every man the same liberty of conscience * hat he cla mad himself la regard to the remarks which had been made about his opinions on the Education question three or four yoars ago. ho said that the question was now m a differeut position to then. It was then within the means of the colony to carry on but it was not so now, He did not enunciate his scheme for remodeling the system with a view to attract tha Catholic votes. He considered hia scheme preferable to the present one ; the Citholics wou)d not alono be le- efitted, thoagh they of course If they chose could participate. Some of his opponents had beetr guiliy of moat contemptible conduct. They had extracted an old article from a newspaper whioh he neither wrote nor suggested aod they had privately circulated this article with Mb (Mr Puruell'B) initials appended. He had been informed of the names of these perßoni and he would like to tell them that the law did not permit one man to use another's name without his permission . Some people had been trying to make out that he was a supporter of Major Atkinson. He was not ; he was an opponent. There was no inconsistency m the position, for a very able and experienced politician, Mr E. G. Wright, had declared himself opposed to both the present Government and Major Atkineon. Much as he would appreciate the honor of being their member, unless tlicy were prepared to elect him as an independent member, he would rather not go to the House If he were fettered with pledges as to party, he would go with a heavy shackle on his usefulness. He was perfectly well aware that leaders did not like independent members. The Ministry naturally wished a candidate to be returned upon whose vote it could rely ; and an Opposition leader was equally anxious for a faithful follower But to his mind it was of infinitely greater importance that their interests should be properly looked after, and that the colonial finances should be placed upon a sound footing than that any particular politician should be m office. They must remember that m this country there was no political party. Mr Walker had asked what was his (Mr Puroell'p) party, but he would rejoin by asking Mr Walker to what party did he (Mr Walker) belong— he was Bimply a supporter of a Ministry the members of which held all sorts of different views. In England political parties were clearly defined, but there was no such thing here. The present Ministry was an Incongruous combination. It was an unholy alliance between Sir Robert Stout, the extreme democrat, and Sir Julius Yogel tbe staunch conservative, and these took nnto themselves colleagues holding no two opinions m oommon. In the recess they paraded the onntry at the expense of the people and delivered speeches contradicting each other, and In the House was afforded the spectacle of Ministers voting m different lobbies (a voice : "That's because they are honest"). Tbe Ministerial team had no driver ; they were pnlllDg against one another and If they were not speedily unharnessed and turned out to grass there would be a terrible smash. The organs of the Government and the Ministerial candidates sneered at the idea of a new party. h, rested entirely with the constituencies to say whether or not a new Parliamentary party should be formed. If the constituencies returned a sufficient number of men fired with the determination to cut down the Governmental expenditure to the lowepit possible point and generally to simplify and cheapen the present system so aa to bring It within the means of the colony, a new Parliamentary party would spring into existence quickly enough, and he thought, it would prove the salvation of the country. They must lake a new financial departure, and get out of that foetid atmosphere of reckleaß borrowing and reckless spending which had so long hung over the colony, and henceforth live m a pnrer and healthier air. In regard to Mr Walker's statement that he (Mr Purnell) had not jndioated where retrenchment might be effected it appeared to him that at every plaoe he bad spoken ha had wearied the eleotors by the exhaustive manner m which he had gone into the subjeot. Mr Brick had insinuated something to the effect that lawyers went to Parliament Bimply for their personal aggrandisement, but he had wisely confined his remarks to England. He might tell Mr Brick that he (Mr Purnell) would Buffer m pocket if he went to Wellington as their representative Why he desired to go was. because he was not a temporary sojourner here like Sir Julius Yogel. This was bis home and the birthplace of his children and their destinies would be wound up In it. He conld see that unless a new system of finance were adopted the colony would be plunged into long and deep depression. It was to &S3lst m bringing about a better state of things that he* was now before them. The present was a crltioal period. They must either go down and down to financial dialler with accelerated, ipaid or the;

IrnuS' pu;l up and go on a new aud eaftr road. He tns od that thay ffoull re- » meu.ib.ar that tuny ware going, to cxc ciee the franchise not only for theunalves but onjbe'isir' of their children, and hs hoped that all who agreed with his views aB he had enunciated them would record their votes m his favor. A vote of thanks to the Returning Offi. er concluded the proceedings.