TOWN EDITION.

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 70, 1 December 1887, Page 3

TOWN EDITION.

WAITOTARA ELECTION €ASE. [PEB, HOTTED PRESS ASSOCIATION.'] v\ an gam 01, This Day. The election petition case, in which the ex-Native Minister and others petition against the return of George Hutchison as member for Waitotara in the House of Representatives, was commenced at ten this morning before their Honors the Chief Justice and Justice Williams. Mr Bell (of Bell, Gully, and Izard) of Wellington, with Mr FitzHerbert, of Wanganui, are for the petitioners, and Mr Travers, of Wellington, with Thos. Hutchison (brother of the sitting member) for the re-spondent. Mr Bell in opening said he apprehended that tha evidence called on some of the charges would not be, absolutely conclusive or satisfactory inasmuch as that evidence was necessarily called out of the enemy's camp. Speaking to the specific a charge of treating on |the day of polling, Mr Bell said he proposed to call evidence to prove treatin g on polling day and other days. He said another specific charge was that Mr Ballance, as Minister of Lands, used his influence with the survey men to get them to vote for the re-spondent by authorising payment of one day's wages to the men while absent voting, and whilst he believed this indisputable, he hoped to be able to show further that Mr Ballance was really agent for Mr George Hutchison. Mr Jacob, hotel landlord, Waverley, staled that on polling: day Mason shouted at the hotel, the bill rendered him being £2 11s for champagne; received account from Hutchison for law charges in connection with transfer of license of hotel and bill of sale ; account was dated 19th November, 1887. Mr Bell here intimated he would not call further evidence as to free lunch as that already given was clear, and the case relating to Jacob i was closed. BuaoECBiM, This Day. Wm. Pollard, manager for several stations belonging to the Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, was fined £50 for failing to inform the Sheep Inspector of the existence scab Top House and Manukau Island stations.