The Evening Post. SATURDAY, APRIL 22,1865.

Evening Post, Issue 63, 22 April 1865, Page 2

The Evening Post. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1865.

A requisition to Mr. Walter Turn bull, and his reply, appear in our columns to-day. It ia a matter of congratulation that he has consented to the wishes of the requisitionists, and is now a candidate for election. His popularity amongst all the sections of political patty will ensure his return, for although his leanings afa naturally enough towards the policy of a Superintendent who has conferred on the city so large a material progress, he is yet one on whose character and sense of right the electors feel they may Confidently rely. There are now eighteen candidates before the electors, twelve of whom may be said to be on one side, and six on the other, for act together or separately, as the candidates may strive to do, they must all be olrfssed under one of two designations. They must fefttth be considered as belonging to the Opposition or not. The Opposition members are Borlase, Bull, Carpenter, Dransfleld, Hiekson, and Wallace. However great their individual differences of opinion may be— ¦whethe.'they profess to be advocates on the one hand of free grants and deferred payments, or whether, on the other hand, like Mr. Hickeon, an increased price, and seven or ten years leases to .runholders— these six candidates are all agreed in one thing ; they are agreed in opposing the policy of the Superintendent, and some of them openly acknowledge that they are desirous of bringing things to a dead lock, in the hope of getting Dr. Featherston to resign. Those electors who voted for Dr. Featherston last month, cannot, in honour, vote now for those who will use their oitrao9t endeavours to oppose and thwart him, and those who voted for Mr. Borlaae will do well to pause and ask themselves whether, having been unsuccessful in placing a driver on the box, there is anj thing to be gained by yoking restive horses to the coach, and bringing it to grief, the more especially as the coach is the joint property of us all. Opposed to the Opposition there are twelve candidates - G. Allen, Crawford, Fitzherbert, Hunter, John Martin, Pearce, K. Pharazyn, Plimmer, Rhodes, Stokes, Waring Taylor, and Turnbull. These gentlemen hold various views, but are all agreed that they will not enter the Council as obstructives, as pledged opponents to the Government, or as promoters of a dead lock. As every elector can vote for any number of candidates he pleases, not exceeding twelve, those who wish to sec progress, and not obstruction, should make their selection from this list. It would, however, be moie patriotic if electors sank all petty personal likes and dislikes, and voted for the whole team — for the twelve men who pledge themselves to use their best exertions to run the state coach with safety to the life, limb, and pocket of the whole community. We are aware that we shall be met with the reply that Opposition does good, and to a moderate extent ought to be encouraged. We admit the soundness of the replj , and, paradoxical as it may -at first sight oppear, it is because we admit it that we seek the return of as few of the City oppositionists as possible. /The late election showed that, as a general rule, Dr. Featherston's friends were proportionately more numerous in the City than in tile Countiy. The City, therefore, should return as many as it can iv favour of Dr.Featherstoh's policy, because the Country will be sure to return several members of the Opposition. Take Wairarapa for instance. Do any of our readers suppose that Mr. Bunny and his friends will hesitate in attempting to return all the members they can on the Opposition side ? Is it at all likely they Will give a single vote to any of Dr. Featherston's supporters? Not they. Let the City then be quite sure that there will be no want of Opposition members in the next Council from the country. If the Cily is not sufficiently alive to this fact, the dan- , ger will be that the Opposition may be too numerous to render good government possible, for there is no evil so great as to have nearly equally balanced sides in a Council Chamber. Whatever Government is so

plnced is necessarily weak ; and although our readers do not know from experience the evils of a weak Government, we can assure them that they are very great. If the CHy electors will do their pnrt, and, for the sake of the public interests that are at stake, sink personal likes and dislikes, and vote for the twelve who will pull together with the Superintendent, they will have done their best to secure the prosperity of the province; resting at the same time quite satisfied that there will be no lack of Opposition members returned from the country. We see that another candidate, in the person of Mr. T. W. Standwell, is announced as likely to come forward for the Council. What the claims of this gentleman are we do not know, but we should think his chances of being returned are far below those of any other of the eighteen candidates in the field, being without antecedents, political or otherwise, that we know of sufficient to warrant such a candidature. By the overland mail we have the Wanganui Chronicle of the 19th inst., but there is no news of any moment. A civilian had been arrested by the military authorities on a charge of holding correspondence with the rebels. It is announced that on Monday evening the Hon. S. A. Weld and the Ministry of New Zealand are going to honor the Theatre Royal with their presence.