THE' AHAURA JBOARD ELECTION

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1621, 15 October 1873, Page 2

THE' AHAURA J BOARD ELECTION

[PKOM OUB OWNiCOREESPONDBNT.] .fifoT.he.j polling for members ;p£;tbe above :Board;!came" ■ offbatt Ahaura; onv Monday. The voting took place" at ithei ; Warden's Office, Mr Whitefoord being the Return^,, ing Officer. : Very, littla-interest was takenJ in the, -proceedings by the residents off' Ahaura or the Totara Flat^ only "two residents^ from the' latteK place 1 taking the trouble to record their votes. One member of the, r newly : elected Board : is a landholder and resident of Totara Flat, but he ow6s his return- more to uthe exertions ofcajfewi electors- of Ahapra and :HalfOunce* thah ?to "anyl. ; effort made :6nHhe part o£ the farmers. The^agriculturista seemed to <treat r the: wholeWaffair\ with great ■ unconcern j .; and' this; ■negligenc^ is the more to be condemned (because ? the farmers as a class will be chiefly affected by the Wction of the Board, as they will discover- when -it., becomes,^necessary, to "strike a rate on tie", value of property* against which '-valuation, should it be challenged as - excessive^ there is practically no means of appeal:holders of saw that.it wasaicase of "■" Hbbsdri's ;choice " they should nave endeavored to make the most of the small concession made' by the Government in the mattery of/tihe. Road. Bpards^r* The miners and those residing in t&e goldfields towns have not 'bee'n^slpjwjto.feike advantage of the opportunity," Wj& consequently the. jßoard i & ) now elected ? f ully represents;: the /mining jinter)Sßt.^q^a^ of about a thousand^qualified electors resident in the district" only eighty-six voted, : a scandalous j fact. ! which'r may be entirely ; attributed- to the i-oj[hißsion=offthev((}oy& in- : m'ent • to provideyadditidn al 'bo*bjhs in cbnyemerittldcalities."' : A nuinib^r of the supporters' "of ' >t: Mr ■■Jon'e8 t:> 'alTi^ed f -*early from Nelson and Callaghan Creeks, some of them 1 ' (iomihg from asjjreafc ajlistance as Owen's Lopk-6ut.~ TDunpg'tKe^ay^ihe supporters of ; Messrs ; 'I^sh. and Cunningham; from Half-Ounce ;and~ that district, '•arrivedi 'and I'as1 'as ? a number of the , . free. ; , and . , independent* electors from' that 'neighborhood^ determined tp make, a. holiday; of the. event,^they - brought their wives' along with : them, so that by ; the time the voting was finished the usually -dull 'and qmetntowniihad assumed quite -a gay and^ f estive^appearance. . J^ones.and Ciinningiiam, w^erjai the favorites; -for^ first ;'anci second fplaoßs—^the third p'lacef being ; -equally conteSted^in popular opinion by Alcorn and M'Eenna. The election of these four was considered certain : the nama of Lash was scarcely , mentioned, except by a few "knowing" ones" ;who .were aw4re of 1 tlie^ numerous j qualifications the candidate possesses for the. position he sought; and the) final rfisultj by placing Mr Lash at the head of the poll, seems to justify the opinion fnrmed of him by the " prophets." Mr Duncanv'pras put of. theVrupningrfrom {he first, as there was adonbt if he would sit if elected;; and,: in -fact,' there is a' doubt whether the place wherV'he^lives'is'Urthe 'Grey"or-the"lnargahnadistrict^"Jlfigßsrs Jones, Cunninghami-and* MaKenna were present duringthe election. after four o'clock' the > Returning :i Office '.fetnoanced the final result of. the polling*to beWfoiKVek I :^'^"-' 1 ■■•' ' /Ui^ :pl!K1 '*' . W;'H; ; Laskl.^V";l^ 'V/. 1 ' 37 ........ .J.W. Jones:..' ...:. if :. f !t p6 ..., a ' . vr James Curiningham. r „';..,,' ^l'^k '.r -, RvAlcorn . ... ■'.■,)'.}.■... ■„.i, u $l :^i 7.,.;.B.'M?Kenna;;. ,n.«..; ■^„:^Mn\i ; ; !j.,A!iiD. Duncan^ : - ■,-i--..i'^i:-v.,,y:ii6.t>^ . The four first-mentioned" candidates Were declared duly elected. It. would have been a tie between Messrs Lash and Jones but for the stupidity of ,, an, electbrlSEb intended to support i the litter'citididite. the : eagerries's'^f his desire tbgi^e-liis man a ."plumper 0 ' he' put.t he, voting paper into the baUoir^q^wi^out'^nng out, any of .the/names.\'....'^v^eD;^H'^.after> wards came outside the -.Court-house? ? lie proclaimed his , dexterity, • and- explained " how well he did it" to atf appreciative audience ; but he was quickly made aware of the mistake he made amid a considerable amount of "chaff." /He explained the error he" made to the -Returning Officer,; but. there was no remedyo Mfl^f 3 Jones, Cunningham, and M'Kenna briefly addressed the .electors, and if a ,vpte, ,of thanks to' the Retxirning'Officer, proposed by Mr Jones, and: seconded by Mr Cnnniugbam, terminatedithe proceedings.