The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 188O.

Kumara Times, Issue 1028, 17 January 1880, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1880.

It was highly amusing to note during the lime the Grey Government were lately trembling in the balance of power the vituperation with which the so-called “ Liberal” org ms attacked any unfortunate member of the House, who showed the slightest inclination to waver in his allegiance to Greyistn, or to assume For one moment that he was capable of forming and expressing any opinion of ' his own. Our southern contemporary (the West Coast Times) was specially proficient at launching a tirade of abuse in which “ ratting,” largely preponderated, against ' the member for the Gray - Willey, Mr Masters, because, forsooth/ he refused to be led by the nose to assist in retaining in power a Ministry whose name was a bye-word and disgrace, and whose virtues only appeared in the columns of its own subsidised journals. This subject is thus referred to by one of the leading organs of the “city of the plains “Now, among those who turned traitor, or were accused by the ‘ Liberals ’ of turning traitor, none incurred such frantic hatred, scorn, and threats, as Mr. Masters, member for Grey Aralley, who is not a particularly flagitious person. On the contrary he is said to be as honourable, single-minded, conscientious, and thoroughly generous a man as ever took part in public affairs. He is not merely respected, but beloved by those who know him best. He had not the slightest inducement, apart from honest conviction, to attach himself to one bide or the other. But he had been counted among the ‘ Liberals’ and when he went against them the very fact of his high personal character magnified his crime in their eyes. They nearly killed Mr Masters by their violence, their insults, their taunts, their interference between him and his electors, their vitriolic persecutions of him. In the course of a few. days he received over two hundred telegrams from his constituency, upbraiding and expostulating with him, and threatening him with the loss of his seat. Most, if not all of those telegrams, we may ha sure, were fa brie Red in Wellington by men who were utterly incapable of comprehending the motives of one like Mr Masters. lie survived it all, however, though his health suffered so seriously as to give great anxiety to his friends and intense satisfaction to the Liberal party.. He lived to give a steady support to the new Government and to earn the unqualified respect of the whole House. But the Liberals persisted to the last in declaring that he had damned himself for all time with his constituents, and that he would never appear in politics again.” Mr Masters, however, on returning to his constituents, was welcomed by the leading, men in the district lie represents, and publicly thanked for his services, despite all the hue and cry that bad been laised by that section of the community, who would willingly have sacrificed the interests of their district and even the character of their representative to save the Grey ministry the reward it so richly merited and received in its dismissal.