THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1880. THE MAYOR ELECT.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2109, 26 November 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1880. THE MAYOR ELECT.

The excitement of the past few days has subsided, and the choice of the citizens has been made. We have on more than one occasion expressed a very decided opinion on the subject of the Mayoralty of Christchurch, but the matter being disposed of, no more need be said. All we would desire to see now is that whatever little temporary ill feeling has been aroused by the recent contest should be laid to rest. Let bygones be by-gones, and each one, so far possible, endeavor to assist the new Mayor in carrying out the work of the city. Mr. Gapes has earned for himself the reputation of stedfastly pursuing the course ho deems to bo right. It may be

that he is not always correct in his deductions, but all will give him credit for honesty of purpose and a sincere desire to advance the interests of the city. We hope that ho will recognise the changed condition of matters municipal since he last occupied the chair, and that he will be prepared to move with the times. But above all it is to be trusted that all ill-feeling, if any exists, will absolutely cease, and that the members of the Council will loyally help the Mayor during the coming year. There is just one point in Mr. Gapes’ remarks at the declaration of the poll to which we desire to refer. Mr. Gapes spoke very strongly—and we think convincingly—as to the necessity of some change being made in the present system of election, so as to do away with the expense and annoyance of canvassing. It is in flat contradiction to the principles of the ballot, which provides all kinds of precautions to prevent the way a man votes being known, and yet what is nothing more nor less than a flagrant violation of those principles and precautions is allowed. If open voting were in force, then nothing need be said as to canvassing, but it does appear to us to be an anomaly that, with the ballot, touting for votes is allowed. We agree with Mr. Gapes that it is high time this was prohibited by law, and both candidates and voters would, wo feel sure, gladly welcome the change.

THE M.H.R. AND HIS PIG. The annual meeting of the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association opened on November the Bth ; the classes were well and competently filled, and the whole show was considered most creditable. The horses, the cows, the sheep, the pigs, the machinery, the poultry, in fact all the exhibits, were well up to, and even beyond, the usual mark. One animal in particular drew upon itself the unqualified admiration of both the just and the unjust. This animal was Mr. Hurst’s Berkshire boar, known by tbo euphonious name of Bertie Saverna. This extraordinary creature shone with a lustre never before noticed in one of its species. Its size, its blackness, and the wonderful condition of its coat, caused the judges at once to give it the first prizefor Berkshire boars. Joy was depicted on the countenance of the M,H.R.: the pig and the man were radiant. But a certain Mr. Isaacs, whose boar bad been adjudged the second prize, was, for a pig breeder, of a remarkably acute and sceptical turn of mind. The gloss of Mr. Hurst’s pig ’ struck him as quite abnormal. Shading his eyes—for the M.H.R.’a animal acted as a sort of reflecting mirror—he touched the shining surface with his finger. The surface was dulled and his fingers were blackened. Ho tried his handkerchief, with the same result. He invited the bystanders to examine the phenomenon. Yet—there was no doubt about it—Mr, Hurst’s pig had been artificially blackened and polished. Mr. Isaac’s next move was to call the judges and stewards. He protested, and declared that Bertie Saverna had been tampered with, for the purpose of deceiving the judges. Mr. Hurst put in evidence and declared that his pig had certainly been rubbed with soft soap and washed, hut that, if it had been blackened, it was certainly without his knowledge. Mr. Isaacs put forward the palpable argument that his and Mr. Hurst’s exhibits were certainly not on the same footing if the latter had been nniornd Lin in) -not. A* this stag”* of the proceedings Mr. Isaccs borrowed handkerchiefs from the lookers-on, and having rubbed them on the pig, returned them to their astonished owners. Mr. Hurst’s man was next called. He declared that he had indeed washed the pig, but that no coloring matter had been used. Finally, the judges, not stopping to consider the theory whether the pig had blackened itself, gave their decision that Bertie Saverna was disqualified, and the first prize was adjudged to Mr Isaacs’ Disraeli. But this was not the end of the affair. Later on in the day Mr. J. P. H. Hanlin, the happy possessor of the Berkshire sow and litter, which had obtained the second prize in their particular class, also lodged a protest to the effect that Mr. Hurst’s sow and sucking pigs, which had carried off first honors, had one and all been, like Bertie Saverna, artificially beautified. In this case, however, the judges held that the protest had been handed in too late, and that they were debarred by their rules from considering it. If it were to be entertained indeed, a wide field for possible complaint would bo opened, and it wonld be necessary to test the remainder of tbo animals in the Show to see whether they would stand washing or otherwise. Subsequently Mr. Hurst wrote to the judges on the subject, but their decisions were not in any way altered. And so this mysterious affair ended, an affair all the more peculiar because we are informed that the pigs had, in reality, no blemishes to hide. The easiest solution is that Mr Hurst’s man had a keen eye for the beautiful. He was probably dissatisfied with nature as not having constructed a pig that could do justice to an M.H.R. for Auckland City West, and he determined to go as far as ho thought he might with impunity. He was certainly hampered by circumstances, but that was his misfortune, not his fault. Had he painted the pig sky-blue—like the sign of the Blue Boar that had often gladdened his eyes when a child—the affair wonld have been too palpable, and might not have been appreciated by judges unendowed with a taste for the picturesque. So be confined himself to blackening and varnishing Bertie Saverna, the sow and all its young ones. The interesting picture of this faithful acolyte engaged in his arduous attempt to glorify his master through his pigs, may hereafter he treated with advantage by our rising R.A.’s, as nothing so touching has been recorded in our generation.