[Character Sketch, No. 1.]

Manawatu Herald, 18 November 1893, Page 2

[Character Sketch, No. I.]

--«► . Hl* ARRIVAIj FnoM the "Tjmcl of brown. heath nud shaggy wood^-qaihe vibe. -Aubjec* of our sketch to "tmV* division of • the r Wovld. his bh\h place having been the well-known manufacturing town of Ha wick, in Roxburghshire. He first went to the neighbouring colony of Victoria in the year 1870. and after spending three years most profitably in that country, crossed over to New Zealand in 1873. The much-talked-of Rangitikei-Manawatu Block was then open for selection, comprising all that country lying between Foxton, the Oroua and Rangitikei Rivers. This block of land had been the subject of much dispute between the different Native :;,tribes, -the Provincial Government and the then Archdeacon Hadfield. Up to this : date. the- whole, area had been- divided up inio runs which, were rented by many old settlers whose dames to this day are perpetuated in the' different land-macks. It will be seen that Mr Wilson was thus enabled to make a good selection, and the land he then took up is still in his occupation, and evidences his practical judgment -The block, close on 7,000 acres, ;ies between, ..the township of Sanscm iarid-th'e «raHway 'line iJMax Kfttariki', with the Raugitikei River as the western, boundary. Vnil&|rite.ri3eqte'd by gpod.'roaSs, and has been redeemed from a state of Nature into the well-fenced and grassed property it now is at. the. labour and expense of its owner. Asan illustration of its suitability for farming its proximity to the Hutt Small Farm Block proves, as the latter block was selected ?by> that Asjsoeiatipn, formed years previously old settlers .of the Hutt ,< men who nad by experience learnt the vaW-df colonial land. AS A FARMER and the breeder of sheep, Mr Wi'son can hold his own with one and all. At. present his farm has 200 acres in grain crops, and about 600; aores in, green crop. Mr Wison is working the whole estate, one crop from the land, either a green or grain crop, and then sowing it down with the best mixtures of grasses. For years Mr Wilson has bestowed great attention not only to the practical, but the theoretical branches of farming, and has, from time to time, written and published, most interesting letters in a local contemporary on these subjects. After having been in the colony a twelvemonth Mr Wilson, believing in improving the breed of sheep, sent to Engand for a stud flock of Lincqtns, which arrived in 1875. These sheep, and their progeny, he exhibited at many Agricultural and Pastoral Shows and secured many prizes, and at Wanganui, the centre of a large sheep district, took the champion prize. Mr Wilson believing that practice' was- worth any amount of precept,: sold but few of these sheep, preferring to. retain them so as to work his flock up to the high standard it is at s*«M&t.

.; ." BIS FAMILY Mr Wilson, feaHng it was, not good to live a'one, made a visit back t > Victoria, and wooed and won a daughter of one of Victoria's o'd.sett evs, Miss Anni,e Adams, add getting married at St. Enoch's, returned to liis home at Sanson. Sirs J G "Wilson has been a help-mate to her husband in many ways, and he lias never omitted to acknowledge her loyal assistance in all his election batt'es. His victory at times has bpendue to her energetic efforts. Airs. Wilson isj also a no mean poetess; though not so well kaowii in this colony as she should be. One of the great Australian papers used to publish poems over the signature of " Aus- . tral " which were read with great pleasure and high y commended by competent critics. It name as a surprise toller many [ friends to find that "Austral" and Mrs .Tame,- G. Wilson were one and the same | person. Tt give3 us wry much pleasure, j preferring prose to poetry, to know that this talented lady has now a novel in the hands of she publishing house, Messrs Osgood'sj Mollvaine & Co. (publishers of Harper s Magazine, London;) the family number five* thi'iee boys and two girls, the edest boy. being of an age that enab'es him to be of assistance to his fajther in the management of the- estate, a matter of some consequence, seeing how much Mr Wilson's public duties take hihi from home. The other children are still at ' school. ' I POLITICAL CAKBER. j At the general election in 1880 >new bouii- ! daries to the electoral'district were arranged and our oUI member tor W. W. Johnston, chose another constituency. It was then considered iiiore advisable that a purely country electorate would be better represented by a settler residing in it, than by a Wellington merchant or lawyer. Our Welling on friends imagined that, they cou-d still secure one more representative for the City by getting a townsman to be a candidate, for this eTecWate; but instead of being satisfied with one, they despatched Messrs Izardi Pri Newman-, and the. then t)r. Buller arid Mr France, and also Mr G. W. Russell, of Eoxton. It -was owing to this feeling 'that a number -of farmers in the Sandon and Carnarvon district waited ■ upoiv Mr Wilsoff and urged him to become a candidate. This was much against his inclination, and he wou'd have preferred to live the life "exeinpt^ frohi public haunt," but sacrificed his inclina ions at the call of pub ic duty. It is on record what a gal'ant j fight was made by the candidate and his supporters. Mr Wilson was returned, and entered tlifl House as a supporter of the Government under the Premiership of the Hon. Mr Kolleston. The next general.election took place in 1883, when the wellknown solicitor, Mr Izard, made a most ga lant and hard contest for the coveted position. This election will be long remembered by all who took part in it, for its remarkably, close finish, Mr Wilson only getting in' by two votes, and the delay there occurred before the final declaration by the Returning Officer, during which intense excitement prevailed. Mr Wilson won his election as an opponent of the Stout- Vogel party. The next election in 1887 looked at first' as though Mr Wilson was to have a walk-over, no outsider daring to tread on the tail of his coat. Two lovers of an election, however, arose within the electorate to do battle with this invincible, much to their disadvantage however, as Mr Wilson polled two to one against them. It was Mr Henry Sanson and MrThynnewho stood and fell. In justice it must be said that they only stood three weeks before the polltook place, and stood as a protest at what they imagined the indifference Mv Wilson seemed to be treating the electors. The couiest was, • however, pleasantly fought on nil side*, and never interrupted the friendly re arionship existing between these old settlers. . Mr Wilson's platform was a good one, and applicable to to-day He was " against the Government, " a believer in retrenchment, in favour of the management of the railways by a non-poli-tiear Board, bflieved. in ihe security of the .tenure of the land as absolutely necessary for the .successful settlement of the country, and had no 'sympathy with such humbug as the nationalization of the and. The Foxton electorate got changed in names and boundaries to thePalmerston e ectorate at the genern I election in 1890, and threw a ditYerent character of electors to be considered, making a change from a purely country to a mixed town and country constituency. It was a period of much excitement in the labour wor d. and great efforts were made over the colony by working men to get the whole repre<entation into their hands. .For.thiS;purpose/Mr F,Pirani announced his intention to oppose Mr Wi'son, but after a very plucky battle Mr Pnani had to go under to a majority of 64 for Mr Wilson. Mr Wi'son therefore at present holds an unbeaten record as a Representative, and we do not think he has much to fear from the opposition now offering at the coming election. For many years Mr Wilson was a silent Member of the House of Representatives, but the smaller House during the last three years has somewhat forced his hand, as it were, and made him speak, and though, preuous y he has made an excellent member of Committees, he has now shown that he is a careful speaker and of much va He to the party he be ongs. His best friends have often found fault with him for his reticence and they now are pleased to have the proof that be had only to speak to assure himself of his proper position. Every: elector testifies .that upon any point needing advice and assistance so far as he 1 was able, Vlr.vMson has willing'y rendered it, and it is no stretch of imagination, to assert that both political friends and foes combine in admitting his stev.ing qualities of kindness of heart, attention to requests, and uprightness of conduct. In fact we know that many urge «s a reason for not supporting Mr Wilson as arising from thinking him "too honest for a politician." ROOIAMiY. Scattered apart as the electors are by a length of nearly one hundred mi es, it is impossible that many can-have the pleasure of frequently meeting Mr Wilspb/i In "pri vate life he is much "appreciated, being an ardent lover of all sport, and no mean singer and musician. Polo he is much in tere'sted- in, '-having a couple -of capital ponies, and, last year . he was one of the team which represented this coast in Auckland. Cricket found a most useful man in our Representative;- and he has traelled with a West Coast team through the Hawke'e Bay (District with an excel 'ent record.- Horse'-racing he enjoys, but does not allow i>- to intrench on his work, one or two local meetings wi 1 witness his preI sence, but his o ! d horse "Doctor" used to ' attend many - more meetings than his '■ owner Tennis is. a game very much en- | joyed by * r Wi son, and because he used I to* recuperate his health a bit in Welling- ,: ton by^p'ayingMn ttfe^feotirts - attached 1 to j Parliament House, his foes suggested that that was what he liked being a member ; for. Of course bis last few years work has . contradicted this. We suppose that, no prii vate person is a member of so many rowing, cricket, tennis, golf, and other clubs, associations and shows as Vi rWi aon is. It would, bevhard^for him to recall them io mind, except' at the, time they oall him to; mind by wiring for the usual iobsWifitioa.