The Manawatu Times SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1878

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 13, 14 December 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1878

As we predicted, the tinwarrantahle presumption oi Councillors H^LCpapE and Macabthub m gratuitously insulting the electors of Awahou, has ipot been allowed to pas? without expression of opinion from those mosi concerned ; and we should imagine that a gentleman possessed of the §upreme. egotism and hypersensitive feelings with which the former is accredited would have little trouble m drawing conclusions far from flattering or consoling. The meeting at 3?oxton on Wednesday night was by no means an Qrderly one, neither the chairman nor the speakers tpaid much attention to the usual routine, of such gatherings, but that it was an earnest, unanimous, indignant protest I against the fnsult that Imd been heaped upon the electorate, was evidenced by the consternation which seized upon the Clique, who according to' the public declaration of the late Chairman, no^: cqn,-; sists of Messrs Thtnne, HalcomSe, and Macaethttk. In our short acquaintance with Mr Halcombe 'the conviction has forced itself'upon us that m accreditpg^ him with a superabundance of egotism, we are iuerely doing Mai a justice ; but blessed as he has been m such a manner, 'that amiable qua^||cati^ mu^ take secbn4 plfl[ce when his insincerity is taken inio' consideration. If speech were given to man to. poncea.l his thoughts, Mr. Jlalcombe is a liviug personification of the fact; but Mr'H-Ai-combe c^n gq beyond that aphorism, and claim th>i; sifeufce, ' speech' and' actions are all wholly distinct, and have, no. relative bearings the one to the other. Mr Halcom^E Has another, qualification which puts the others completely m the shade— his refreshing coolness — some would call it impudence or. effrontery. tla<s we ever, any doubts upon "the point, they would have been.entirely set at'res't by his conduct pn Wednesday night, m claiming to address the people hejhad sdunwarxtfntftbly jasulfced, and the yells of execration, hootings', and jeers we,x(e hurled at him, were a'just retributibh for his presumptuous temerity m bearding people he had wantorily vl ins.ulted. That political weather-cocfr, that fountain of falsehood, Dr. KpcKSTBOTC— who like the ungrateful "Vur* snapped at the hand that fed him— t%t prince of shufflers, jabbered some, in s'^ue twaddle, and claptrap about fair play, and with comsummate cheek and Im^udejic.e condemned the meeting for not according Hr Halcombe a hearing^ Did it never dawn upqn t%"Sbicft that' as tl^e n^eeting had h,ecn oallod of elector.? alone, Mr Halcombe orC'Mr Macabthub had no right whafcev;eß to. take part in 'the proceedings'" and the impudence of aUending, to interrupt tine meeting might have been met m a far. more summary manner. Mr Halcombe when he spoke m the Obunoilthoooughly v.fntilafed. the subject, leaving no' phase untouched, Eainling Mr Lo.pdos'* g.uilt _m the lackesl colors, "a^Hwith considerable dramntic eifeef uj^t^tin£ ag^hst" ' '.' a :slo)Ygnly» ' unhantlsoine corse being brqiigiic betwijct" tlje. wind and' his nobility." 'Siic,e, tbfsn, no new ' fact has cropped up "«vith which IMJr Hal cqmb^e Qoiila 1 deal, h? had poured out the full vial's" of his wra^K and spat forth the last particle of his venom ; the matter' 1 wa^ before the jury, and tha^ jury %|s the electors albne. Had. Mr. LouOON so, desired, he would have l been fairly en titled to have been h!|ard *in ''defence, but Mr London did not intend 'to ba^e ' jittered one word, being pi*ej>ar'eu io f abide the decision of t^osV '^o : wkom alone he ■was responsib^ ana if endorsed tlie denunciation of W^r. 'HA l C9.mjqe. to accept the verdict, and' 'retire. for ever; The cool effrontery. o'f : 'Mr. H^l.9OMß.e, asking if th^y Would conllemn him unheard, was certainly refreshing. Did he forget that lie had usurped the position of judge, had' summed up. the case m all its buuriugs, had delivered liis chhrg*, so that the'casLti was m the hands of the jury, and when they were about to retiirn. their, verdict, he anil his"partisans denounce it' as unfair that he should' not he allowed to re-open the case, t(nd travel over the same 'grouud ag^in,.' TJie Cliqeb. may scpff- at the irregular proceedings of the meetings, no d,o^bt the electors l\ave hot the experjenco \n a,rra,nging these li^le matters possessed bj" 'Jf^YNKB, '-I^Air c,o]^b,b, i .o| 00., bjt|t a,s an honest ex: : press^on bf^. r the feeling of thje e^ec.tors'^ it was;unmi.stakeable, a.nd to the shame' and n^ortifijeation of'lhe OliquVjj, VyerWhen, we read the* asser r itiof\ m tyft 'V^ellih^ton ' Chronicle that that ihe. of ]Vir. Halcombe. was .preponoerjte.d by. a Clique of which wp •"'l"^x^B--\'a^, a nie,mberl v^.e, certainly „w ere/ under* the inipres.sio^ pat the. statein.on^ and, that no Rympathy eystett 'bet^en Messrs. Thtnnk and: 'H^lc,O}^be, Wodnesday night's prpcftedirtgs, Hoiwever, ha^vie en--1 lightened i^s as to'our error, a,nd the [ reply io. a. query, p^ to Mr Tbcynis c [as to fli ho i constituted oft repeated "we," that th'e. personality con sis lied of ! Mr Halcombb, Mr MAcAKTaoi, and-

have been correct- li is true that Mr Macabthub, m a letter to the New Zealande?*, goes to some trouble to repudiate the companionship of Mr Thynite, but it is strange that he should hear the partnership publicjy paraded on Wednesday night, and yet g[ye no sign, Oh! shades of the once proud* and honored Chairman, what a falling off was there! Publicly rojected, reviled, and hooted by those who used tq hang upon his words; while the new friends with whom he is so anxious to club, secretly are ashamed of a companionship which they make use of for their own private ends. Mr Halcojibe asserted that the action of Mr Loudon precluded him from sitting with all honorable men. If we could believe Mr jHa^combe to be all that he professes — r truthful, honorable, and high-minded, as well as punctilious — and that Mr Loudont had refused to resign his seat or allow his constituency to pronounce judgment, then we say, we might endorse Mr Halcombe's action. What are the facts, however ? Mr Lottdon resigned his seat of his own accord, his successor was elected, and the business of the Gouncii was carried on until it was finally dissolved by the effluxion of itime. ' Then a hew Council was elected, new blood introduced into it, ' and new inemb.ers returned, Mr Lotjdon having voluntarily put himself upon his trial, and being returned — as the best, most 'useful, and most eligible candidate — at the he,ad of the poll. What he had said or done m a former; Ijody, or how he lia.3 a^cted toward other members, was 'entirely outside .the question,, a.nd consequently the threat of Councillor HAlcbajßK— wi£h the' invitation to others to follow his bad example — tQ d/isfranchise the Kiting, should have been scouted at th> outset, and the utte^er, qov.er.ea with the obliquy and contempt' he deserved. 'We presume, with! 'all Mr 'fJAtQOjiB.E's assupied spo'tlessness he has" done one. or two actions m his lifetime of w.hich ey.erv person would not approve, supposing Mr Kalgomse 'should" ev.er re^chj tl^e goal of his ambition and write M.HTr.' after' 'his na.me,, How would he like a brother senator to spring ijp and "impeach him ? Still th,e step' would not be' one wjjit n^pre unwarrantable audacious tha.n his recent action". 'The aid Council was dgad, some" of' the members had' Retired, others vf ere defeated ; and those who had the interests of the public at liearfc should have striven" to avoid the scenes and differences w-hioh disgraced the old Council rather than to perpetrate them. Mr' Kalcombe is r v. L ertg,\r\ly the best judge of the Value of h^s honor, but in' quf opinion it has been appraised too high if it is to be preserved at the expense of justice, fair' playi an^ the interests of the Awahou Eiding. '