COLERIDGE ELECTION.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1740, 17 September 1879, Page 3

COLERIDGE ELECTION.

OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF THE POLL. The official declaration took place yesterday at the Town Hall, Ashburton, which was well filled. Both Messrs Wright and Hart were present, and Mr Lee, the Returning Officer, after a few remarks, declared the result of the poll as follows :

The result being a majority for Mr E. G, Wright of 109. Mr Wright rose amid loud applause and said the contest had now ended, and, considering the opinions of the candidates were similar, much trouble had been taken by both, and the struggle had been a very severe one. He was glad the electors in the district wero not reduced .to serfdom. He used

these words in consequence of the fact that great efforts had been made by the Bank of New Zealand ■to return their own candidate, and undue pressure had been brought to bear. Some voters had abstained from voting altogether in consequence of this pressure, but ho hoped in future every independent elector would raise his voice against the arrogance of that institution, which had striven to govern that election, and he hoped all would agree with him that it was time that an end should be put to such influence. [Applause.] _ He was happy to say his opponent and himself had never disagreed in a single instance, or had any ill-feeling for each other. [Cheers.] He could not say so much for the tactics of some of Mr Hart’s supporters. He had received a letter from Mr Ingatone, at Rakaia, enclosing a circular that had been sent round by certain of Mr Hart’s friends at Rakaia, in which the Roman Catholics were warned not to vote for him, because he had turned away a female servant in consequence of her being a Roman Catholic. They had heard his explanation of this and other charges in the Town Hall on Saturday night, and he would now repeat that ho had in his employment Roman Catholics, Wesieyans, Presbyterians, and members of the Church of England, and he absolutely denied having in any case favored one more than the other. [Applause.] He did not know if any of his servants wore Mormons or Latter Day Saints, but if they were ho should never treat them uufairly in consequence. [Laughter and cheers.] The statement in . the circular was a wicked and malicious falsehood, and he therefore took this public opportunity of replying to such a foul slander. [Applause.] He had in the course of the election been requested to advocate many works. Some places wanted Court-houses, others railways, and all his constituents wanted the West Coast railway. Ho would read them a list of the works he had promised to endeavor to forward. [List read.] Now, he hoped they would not expect him to get everything done during the present session, for such a thing would be impossible, as he thought the session would be a very short one, and two questions of vital importance to the whole colony would have to bo considered at it, viz., the Maori difficulty and the question of finance. [Cheers.] Of course these matters were of paramount importance, and district matters would have to give way to them. If the Re-distribution of Seats Bill did not pass Jduring the present session, ho thought the least the House could do was to grant another member for Coleridge, which was very inadequately represented. He noticed on going through the district a great many who had not registered their votes. This was a great mistake, and he would see to the matter himself, and hoped before next 31st March the great majority would be able to exercise their privilege of electing what representative they liked best. [Applause.] Ho moved a vote of thanks to the Returning Officer and called for three cheers for his committee, who had worked very hard for him. [Applause.] Mr Hart seconded the vote of thanks to Mr Lee, and thanked these that had voted for him. Mr Wright had been returned by a block vote at Malvern. He had been told a few evenings ago of this block vote, and been informed that if he would accede to certain conditions votes would bo given him. He had, however, refused to pledge himself, and the result had been as he stated. As to Mr Wright’s statement re the abuse heaped on him by his (Mr Hart’s) supporters, he thought any candidate who had the support of the “Ashburton Mail ” could hardly complain of anything done on the opposite side. [Groans and applause.] He had been defeated by the votes of those on the other side of the Rakaia, a majority having been favorable to him in the southern portion of the district, and this showed how urgently separation of the electoral district was required, for had the district been divided by the Rakaia and he had stood for the southern part, he should still have been their representative. He begged most warmly to thank all those who had voted for him. [Applause.] This terminated the proceedings. GLADSTONE ELECTION.

The following are the returns from the different polling booths, as stated by R. Boetham, Esq., Returning Officer, at 11 o’clock yesterday morning :

THE “ SPECIAL WIRE” QUESTION [From the “ Press,” September 17.]

It is not generally felt to bo good taste to allude to one’s own affairs in contending for a political principle. The reason is obvious. There are of course exceptions. And most certainly it is an exception to the rule when the only illustration possible happens to be found in a matter personal to the complaining party. Such is the state of things with regard to the “ special wire,” which has for some time been engaging the attention of tho public. We shall proceed to narrate the circumstances as briefly as may be. The debates in Hansard and the papers laid on the table of tho House will supply us "with our material.

The first application made to the Government for a “ special wire ” came from the proprietors of certain journals, friendly to the Government, on the 29th of August, 1878. The General Manager of the Telegraph Department reported adversely to this application, Tho cost —£4oo0 —was one main ground of his objection, and his report contained the following passage, which, read by the light of subsequent events, is sufficiently significant :—“ As the wire which they “ ask for traverses all the centres of “ population, it should be made a eon- “ dition that all the morning papers unite “ in the undertaking, and if any decline “ to join in it they should give an assur- “ ance not to embarrass the Department “ during the currency of an agreement “ by asking for another special wire. For “ it must be perfectly understood that “ tho wire resources of the Department “ would not admit of two special “ wires at one time, nor would the “ Department be justified in erecting a “ special wire to meet this particular “ class of business, unless full expenses, “ such as interest and maintenance, wore “ to form a first charge in addition to “ cost of operating staff.” This is clear enough. A special wire could only be granted on two conditions, that there should be only one wire, and that all tho morning papers should be at liberty to join in it. Notwithstanding this, tho Cabinet decided to comply with the request of their friends. A minute signed by Sir George Grey granted them the use of a special wire for two years, at £2OOO a year. The date of the letter from tho Department announcing this concession is tho 21st of September, and on the 22nd the terms were accepted by the applicants. These parties immediately proceeded, tultile the agreement was still secret, to make arrangements all over the colony for selling the participation in their thus acquired privilege to newspapers of their own choosing, the leading Opposition journals being carefully excluded. They oven sent to Sydney and Melbourne for tho purpose of securing a monopoly of European intelligence. In this last they failed. But having, as wo shall see immediately, a month’s start, they had no difficulty in making arrangements with the great bulk of tho journals in the colony. They thus secured the use of the special wire on exceedingly economi cal terms. The secret did not leak out till nearly the middle of October, and on the 14th

of that month application was made to the telegraph department for the extension of a similar privilege on behalf of the excluded journals. To this no answer was vouchsafed. On the 15th Mr. G. McLean, in his place in the Assembly, moved for papers, and was told by Mr. Fisher that an Association calling themselves “The Associated Press Agency” had applied for a special wire, and “ most “ likely they would yet it.” On the 22ud a debate took place, and Mr. Fisher then said that the Government were going to have another special wire stretched “ for the use of the Press, irrespective of political creed.” On the next day application was again made on behalf of the excluded portion of the Press, for a wire, and this time an answer was obtained in a few hours granting the application, but altogether too late to place the now applicants on an equal footing with those to whom the privilege had boon previously granted. Now the first thing which must strike the reader of the above narrative is, that notwithstanding the fact that Dr. Lemon had reported that the resources of the department wore such that only one special wire could bo granted, the Government complied with the request of their friends, fand entered into an agreement with them for two years. They made no stipulation whatever that the Association should be open to all newspapers of the colony who cared to join it. The negotiations were conducted with the utmost secresy. Even when some of the facts came to light it was with the greatest difficulty that the truth could be elicited. Three weeks after the agreement was entered into Mr. Fisher would only admit that an association calling themselves “ The Associated Press Agency,” had applied for a special wire, “and most likely they would got it.” Although the session was about to close days were allowed to pass before the correspondence in connection with the matter was laid on the table of the House. And then and not till then was anything heard of the willingness of the Government to grant a similar concession to the “ Press Agency.” It has been said that “ the solo cause of complaint “ resolves itself into this, that the “ members of the Press Association have “ made a better business arrangement “ than has been made by the Press “ Agency for their friends.” Now, this statement is only half the truth. The complaint is that the Press Association have been able to make a better business arrangement than their competitors, because they have been assisted in their business arrangement by the Government of the colony—that they got, secretly, an important concession which gave them an enormous business advantage over the Opposition journals. Constituted as the Press Association was, the arrangement which the Government made with them was nothing short of granting them a valuable monopoly, because they had the power of excluding whatever journals they chose from the advantages they had acquired. Moreover, at the time it was granted, it was evidently believed that it was exclusive, for it was all that the department was supposed to be able to undertake in that direction. And the best use was undoubtedly made of that belief. All over the colony newspapers were secretly induced to join the new association under the impression that by the action of the Government the Press Agency was utterly ruined. And had the secret been kept for a few days longer the objects of the conspirators would have been secured. Only for the action of one or two members of the House, who forced the Government to make public the arrangement, the whole affair would have been kept a profound secret till the session had ended, and then undoubtedly the ruin of the Press Agency would have been completed. But if wo are to believe the language of the Premier the object of the Government in granting this monopoly was of the most disinterested nature. Their plan was nothing short of a grand scheme for securing the education of the people of New Zealand—an education which they had never previously enjoyed. It was, we were told, in order that there might be obtained “ the best possible in- “ formation, and the clearest possible “ summary of the phantasmagoria of the “ events occurring in Europe from day to “ day” that the Premier had granted to his already subsidised friends this valuable privilege. Nor wore they slow, as we have already said, to make the most of it. With this agreement in his pocket, they sent a representative to Sydney and Melbourne to purchase the exclusive privilege of publishing, in New Zealand, the European telegrams procured by Reuter’s Agency, the Argus and the Age, And although he failed in his mission ho showed a praiseworthy anxiety to carry out the Premier’s objects. The plan was well conceived, and had it been successful, the public of New Zealand would undoubtedly at the present time have boon receiving “ the clearest possible “ summary of the phantasmagoria of “ events occurring in Europe from day to “ day” exclusively through the medium of the subsidised organs of Sir George Grey’s Government.

Wright. Hart Ashburton ... 156 .. 120 Chertsey 13 3 Eakaia 53 .. 106 Wakanui 24 9 Waterton ... 13 17 Malvern 138 ... 29 Dnnsandel ... 30 ... 16 Hororata 38 ... 17 Mount Somers 17 ... 15 Alford Forest 3 ... 28 Methven 2 ... 18 Totals ... 487 378

Studholme. Deane ■VYaimate 189 ... 160 Geraldine 65 ... 22 Pleasant Point 20 ... 8 Mount Peel... 13 ... 6 Pareora ... 45 ... 10 Eurke’a Pass ia ... 1 342 207 Majority for Stndholme ... 135