THE Cromwell Argus. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1870.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 39, 10 August 1870, Page 2

THE Cromwell Argus. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1870.

The long sleep of Cromwell is at an end. The tpwn has fairly shaken itself free of its old lethargy. The elections for Mayor and Councillors are no longer to be looked upon as mere matters of form. Time was when our representatives had to bo drawn by persuasion or driven by threats to tho Council Chamber, when they consented to take office only to avoid the penalty of refusal. Now and then a little excitement would spring up, but it was spasmodic, and soon spent. And even while it lasted i(j, Upb not the forth-putting of a sound and, healthy interest in the prosperity of. the conlmonwealth. A " walk-over" in thbse days was the usual course of things. When a candidate was found, his reluctance to be put in nomination was overcome in the only way it could be overcome at the time. One proposed, another seconded, a show of hands was demanded, and all was over. No business transaction was suspended, no midday meal was forgotten and lost for other and more absorbing attractions t no day's work or day's wage was neglected to attend the election of Mayor or Councillors. Such events have sometimes come ott" in the Council Chamber, and the townspeople outside none the wiser. This state of things has passed away. The municipal paralysis has.vanished as if by magic. The ratepayers are all astir : they now act as if they had a stake at issue,-—each as if the event were to be decided by his influence and his single vote. The strip of neutral ground, where many formerly held themselves aloof in utter indifference to the Corporation, is now deserted. Each takes his own side boldly, and is prepared to share the responsibilities of the man of his choice. This journal made its advent just in the nick of time to give form and direction to this new life at its awakening stage : it took the tide at its lowest ebb, and gave it steadiness and steerage-w;iy up to its present high water-mark. In its pages, each party coidd tell its own tale, in its own way. Columns of advertisements appeared: hills of all colours, red, green, and black, in bewildering abundance, met the eye everywhere: the virtues and the crooked policy of both the winning and the losing condidate were held forth in large and flaming letters to arrest the attention of the beholder. Voters holding town qualifiations came in from all quarters, to support each his own candidate, from motives oest known to himself. Nothing was allowed for the time being to divert public attention from the mastering idea. All gave themselves up for the hour to tho controlling passions of an electioneering battle. Up-country and down-country gentlemen met at the common centre, and were soon seen to range themselves on that side to which their sympathies and their preferences most powerfully inclined them. One bellman for a time held undisputed sway : the arrival of a second divided the empire for a few minutes ; till—whether by mutual agreement or exhaustion it would be hard to say—they ceased from the work of deafening stupefaction, and wandered about, half dazed, among a crowd of boys, Ladies watched the event from the terraces, and from every frontage that commanded a view of the ballotrooms. A call to business was felt to be an impertinent interference. And when the state of the poll was declared by the Returning Officer, an explosion of pent-up feeling occurred, such as is not common in a small community. A good deal of betting for small amounts had been going on, which added intensely to the feeling thus relieved. The displays of human frailty were rather below the average common on such an occasion.—"We have written thus fully on tho subject of a new-born patriotism among us, that we may be read by those who only know us by hearsay, and who may have used Cromwell in its corporate relations " to adorn a tale." It is a delusion to suppose our Town Council incapable of anything high and noble, that our deliberations are charged with nothing but wrath and misconstruction, and that wrangling in the management of our municipal business is chronic and incurable. In noticing the sharp contests in tho various municipalities as evinced by the narrow majorities, some of the provincial newspapers tell their readers that Cromwell is an instance with others: Mr Smitham, they say, was returned by only seven over Mr Goodger. The fact is that Cromwell cannot bo classed with the p-'ieral rule, but with the exceptional caf'js : tho majority for Mr Smitham was .eventeen. In the eloctions for Councillors, Mr Kelly fought the battlosn the Bridge

Ward with Mr Dawkins, but was unsuccessful. Still he was determined to die hard. He set his defeat down rather to a national than to a personal account. If he could not'live as a Councillor, he.wo\dl die as a Celt. He concluded his address with the humour peculiar to himself ;T " I perceive that no Irish need apply.'" In tho Kawarau Ward, the contest lay between Mr Brown and Mr Shanly. Their claims to the confidence of the ratepayers seemed bo evenly balanced that no political seer could venture to predict who would be the winning man. When the Returning Officer declared the state of the poll, MiBrown's friends only half-believed their ears, till the twice-repeated figures dispelled all doubts. It will thus be seen that we have borne our part with the neighbouring municipalities in an earnest struggle to •place " good men and true" at the head of our little Corporation; and we can now look at the result with proud satisfaction. Nor need the defeated candidates be ashamed of what has happenod. They shewed game to the last, and if they husbaud their experience, it will avail them in time to come.