The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, DEO. 2, 1905. THE NEW LIBERAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1617, 2 December 1905, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, DEO. 2, 1905. THE NEW LIBERAL.

The crowded audience in the Threatri Royal were taken by surprise on Thurs- , day night by the new candidate, Mr G. E Darton, who gave proof of the unsuspected rhetoric talent there may be in our midst by the manner, from a nervous beginning, he proclaimed the gospel of Liberalism. His late entry into the field will, to our mind, deprive him of any great hops of j success ; but the straightforward manner | id whioh he confessed his reason for not j coming out sooner will at once gain him I sympathy and respect, whereas evasivej ness would have condemned him not only for the present, but for the future—a future pregnant with great possibilities to | a man who came out so strongly and yet .so unostentatiously as did Mr Darton. The prompt manner in which he won and held the good feeling of the audienoe was in itself a triumph for a mao who was making his maiden speech before snob a large His case for Statutory preference to unionists, and for expedition in the work of the Arbitration Court, was, we I believe, the best yet made ont in Gisborne. In his 'remarks on that subjeot ha was clear and concise, with none, of the frothy la'k of the agifatov. “He ably seconded Mr Oarroll in hie defence of the Liberal administration; and would make'an able lieutenant to that gentleman. His defence of the land polioy. was one of the beet things of the campaign, and the Bpebker offered'some good suggestions which we hope the Minister for Lands will folly

3 | consider. The attack on the native lam I administration gave Mr Oarroll soini j strong.points to reply ito. It is a pity thi candidates porid hot meet and get theii 1, charges 'into ® concrete form. Fovi in' ' ‘stance the famous .map, and the variatior ' in figures from anything up to ovet 900,000 acres. ...It Chas all become quite confusing to the public, as ope talks ol native land.in globe while -the other refers to areas in occupation. The point sbpuld I be reduced to a definite issue.,.which would I enable the figures given on either side to be promptly tested. Mr Darton’d vigorous onslaught on the .Trust Board would ba ye'-y well in its plaoe—tbe Trust Bo@-d like any other organisation no doubt leaves- itself open to criticism—but wherein lis the connection with the present election contest ? Supposing the personnel of tho Board is found fault with, and the method jrf 1/browing open the land in large areas doeeinot find favor with advocstes'of c'oso settlement, what has it all got to do with the election ? Or in what way does it prove that the veteran Liberal should be ousted in favor of the younger man ? It seems to us that Mr Darton would do better by keeping to broad policy lines in whioh be showed to advantage, and eschew this carains criticism and ssnsatinnnlinm

upon a subject that would be better discussed apart from the election contest. As to Mr Darton’a candidature, be bas every right to come forward, and though we cannot hold out to him any hope of a large measure of success on this oooasibn, his time may.come in due course. It looks I as if the electorate will require lan additional member three years hence.