THE WANDERINGS OF DR. M'NAB

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2326, 7 December 1914, Page 4

THE WANDERINGS OF DR. M'NAB

J , When the farmers ' of Hawke's Bay and the people of the flourishing tovoß o< that distvict listen to the pleadings of the plausible go a-

tleman who is carrying tho banner of Wardism in their electorate in the present election campaign they might ask themselves a few questions. Why has Dr. M'Nab wandered to Hawke's Bay to ask them for their votes? Possibly Dr. M'Nab will tell them. Dr. M'Nab was'rejected by the electors of Mataura in 1908 after ho had represented them in Parliament for some years. Why did the electors of Mataura decline to have Dr. M'Nab any longer as their representative in Parliament? Apparently they found him so unsatisfactory a representative that they not only rejected him but Dr. M'Nab did not think it advisable to again offer fchem his services. Still he was very anxious to get back into Parliament, and so ho looked around for another electorate. He went a long way afield, even so far as Palmerston North. He took up his residence'there and began a long and steady siege of the heartß and votes of the people of Palmerston North. At the elections of 1911 tho electors of. Palmerston North did what the electors of Mataura had done,'in 1908—they cast.their votes to prevent him getting back into Parliament. and he was badly teaten by the old member for the district, Mr. Buick. Again, instead of continuing in tho district which had rejected him and striving valiantly to win over the opposition to his candidature , he once more bolted away in search of a fresh electorate, and this time his choice has fallen on Hawke's Bay. It does not seem-t'o have occurred to him that having been rejected by his old constituents in Mataura, and then having been rejected three years later by the new • constituency which he had picked out for himself, the electors of Hawke's Bay might reasonably resent the idea that what was not good enough for Mataura or for Palmerston North was good enough for Hawke's Bay. Dr. M'Nab has asked the electors of Hawke's Bay to throw over a man who has spent his whole lifetime with them in the district; who has worked for and represented them faithfully in Parlia-. ment. And why are they expected to do this? In order that Dr. M'Nab, an outsider rejected by the electors of Mataura and Palmerston North; a candidate who, metaphorically speaking, has not been ten minutes in the district, may get a seat in Parliament. It is but another illustration of the extent to which this much-rejected gentleman is out of touch with public feeling that he should think that he could pack his bag and rush about the country from one electorate to another and persuade the electors that he is their friend and that their old member is unworthy of their trust.