Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 1884. THE MANAWATU SEAT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 190, 9 July 1884, Page 2

Manawatu Standard ( PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 1884. THE MANAWATU SEAT.

The electors have now had an opportunity of learning the views and opinions of both the candidates for the honor of representing Manawatu m Parliament. Monday evening's meeting showed that Mr Fiiaseu has many friends, who are working energetically to secure his return. The subject matter of his address proved a thoughtful plodding disposition, without any? pretensions to brilliant ability, but rather indicative of a desire on the part of the candidate to be a useful representative of his constit- ■ uency. As regards the practical element, truth and fairness will not permit us to say that Mr Fraseu will compare favourably with Mr Macarthuh. The features of their respective political platforms do not perceptibly differ, but indeed closely resemble each other. JBut the electors, all of whom will have perused with eager interest the newspaper reports of the public meetings addressed by each, will have remarked m Mr Fraser's utterances a tangible drawback m the all-important, feature of lack of practical application of the political theories he propounded. And thjs; is a point which the electors should not lose sight of. His suggestions with regard to the Impounding' Gazette, for instance, did not strike us as very practical, pr even likely to serve the desired purpose. No doubt he wished to prevent the recurrence of Hardships to settlers through their stock being sold m the pound without their knowledge. But, would the proposed Gazette achieve that result? By Mr Fraskh's j proposal the Gazette was to be posted m the various schools, so that ] little Tommy Sykes could learn if his father's bull stag had got into ! the pound,. and Billy Smith could run home with the intelligence that

his mammy's nanny goat was m durance vile. No doubt the said Gazette would be perused with eagerness by the youngsters, and it would thus serve the double purpose of stimulating the children to more quickly mavSter their A. B. C. But Mr FitASEit did not tell us about cost f>£ production and circulation, under whose super vision, and who to be responsible for errors or omissions. In fact, it did not strike us as a practical and workable idea at all. And where does the feature of econ-' omycomein, of which Mr Fraser is such an ardent advocate ? Further, to many people the Gazette would be of no earthly use. For instance, to Those parents who no children hae Nor will never will hae nane. Mr Fraser would require, m order to make the Gazette answer its desired purpose, to induce the said childless parents above referred to, to become subscribers to the Impounding Gazette, which m the end might become the very reverse of "a thing of beauty and a joy for ever ; " and settlers might feel disposed to mentally consign both the Gazette itself and its originator to warm quarters, and to prefer run- | ning the risk of their stock being j impounded and sold, to the alterna- | tive of trusting little JitaMY to bring home word that a cow lost last ChrisU mas at Kiwitea, is now impounded at Awahuri, with more expenses and damages on her head than she is worth. We cannot honestly detect m this Impounding Gazette scheme any indications of phenomenal political brilliancy on the part of the propounder, nor can we reconcile the conflicting features of cost of compilation, production, and circulation combined, with the grand fundamental element of economy, on which Mr Fraser rightly lays such stress. With other items of his political creed we must deal on a subsequent occasion.