Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell : Tuesday, October 14, 1873.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 205, 14 October 1873, Page 4

Cromwell Argus AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. Cromwell : Tuesday, October 14, 1873.

We should be neglecting our duty if we failed to draw particular attention to the painfully prominent position which was occupied by the member for the Dunstan District during the past session of Assembly, and to the extraordinary unanimity which prevailed amongst the newspaper writers, and even amongst the members of the Assembly themselves, in parading before us any of the peculiarities or shortcomings of that honorable member. No opportunity was lost of exposing him to ridicule ; and some honourable members even did not think it beneath their dignity to caricature his personal appearance and manner while speaking in the House, and to distribute those caricatures over this Province, and especially that part of it which the gentleman in question has the honour, or the misfortune, to represent. Hardly one letter from the Assembly during the session can be found, in which does not appear some more or less contemptuous allusion to our unfortunate member; and he, apparently, is only known by one of a number of vulgar nicknames. Now this is carrying the joke too far. Mr Shepherd may commit errors as a representative ; (we have never found our- . selves able to approve of his political coni duct on the whole, aud we have been somewhat severe upon him occasionally); he may lay himself open to censure by his sometimes arrogant manner of expressing his opinions ; and he may even offend, we trust unintentionally, other members by his personal peculiarities ; but all these combined do not justify the publication of vulgar caricatures of the man, and such evidently unfair criticisms as he lately has been subjected to. Such overstrained attempts at damaging Mr Shepherd's political reputation only lead to a directly contrary result; the British public in the shape of his constituents object to his being so systematically " sat upon." We trust for the future to hear no more of the gross

personal allusions to Mr Shepherd that have been so common lately j it should be remembered that, for the time being, he is the representative, whether for well or ill, of not the least important gold-fields district in Otago. Let his political conduct be criticised, unsparingly if need be, but let it be done without the personal element •being so forcibly introduced. At the same time, however, it is painfully apparent to us that there is something wrong about our representative; that, in fact, he has ceased to have any power whatever in the direction of affairs in the Assembly. He has, unfortunately for us and for himself—in what way concerns us not at present—succeeded in alienating, and that, we are afraid, beyond hope of recovery, the sympathies of every member in the House, who should have supported him on many occasions. Indeed, beyond Mr Macandrew, (and we fancy it is only a sort of helping-the-weak feeling which actuates him), we cannot name one of the Otago members who at all cares to support anything Mr Shepherd takes in hand. It may be for personal reasons that such is the case ; or it may be that Mr Shepherd refuses to ask, or accept of, the co-operation of these members. The result is that Mr Shepherd occupies a position in the House of Representatives similar to that of Ishmael of old : " His hand is against every man,, and every man's" hand is against him." The Dnnstan district, however, cannot much longer afford the luxury of having a representative of this kind. Mr Shepherd. if he cares about recovering the confidence of his constituents, must pursue a different line of conduct to that which he has lately clone, and one which will re-inspire confidence in the minds of his Otago colleagues. He must also take an early opportunity of meeting his constituents, to explain, if he can, the extraordinary position into which he has lately allowed himself to fall. In the event of his not doing so, the last resource which is left to a constituency may require to be adopted.