The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1879.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 23, 22 January 1879, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1879.

' We believe Vt tlio first N>polbon riho catil of a perfiiliotls Albion" that the n>ain scoret «sf its success lay m the fAcl that it« soldWs r>"V<»r kne\iv •vrheh they wore beat eft. We do riot k.nnw whether the l»ori member For Ka\ra Kkwa jrt the County Council, Mr John Gowrr. has fully realised the fact that the little plot to sppiirc the railway for Foxton has burst ; thit secret nianoff'i'vrinj. wi^p-pitllin":, and )dii*rollinj; hur<» •failed; ahtl that, on the nv*Hts and on tho«e alone Will the final route"!)? detfermined ; "buf if he ha«, he has determined to be true to the national eharaC'feris'i'*, not acknowledge his defeat, and- to act upon the very excellent mofto. •' Try. . try. try, again." At the last sittirtjr.of the Cmnril." Mr. Councillor -^OS^eb, -with rffreil»inK coolness and. conimendj. able modesty gave notice that nt; the next meeting he would more — " That m the opinion of this Council, Ihe present and future, .interests of the Manawahi County vt'oulii be beat consulted by brinjjmtj tfc* Wellington Rail wan into (be Port 'at Fox ton." Now. although. Mr. fioyKji has paid the Council the «"Omplim£n£>>f asking its opinion,, by formal nwp.tipn, would he undertake to soy thaftlie whole affair has not been j»ftt "cd.at an- extraordinary meeting held tlniinfr the"iailj6unraient between the \&<i morning and evening sitting of the Council, th** outeoine of a panic created by reading the Timbb of thnt date. On the spc.oix-j Wednesday m February, the motion will come on for consideration, and tnthcmt waitint? for the blaae of oratory of the Idjficftl orgwments wliich the moxi't \k sttre to display, we will now givo Ihe repnlt : — »6S THK MOTION. Councillor 1 T<oudon CounciHor Roekstrow. Co'.jn<'illor Gower i Councillor B»nson

- AGAINST tfHE MOTION. Councillor Macm tlmr Councillor HalcOmbe Councillor Lint on ' Councillor Cari\ Q-iwid majority for the motion ... 1 Andnow to analyse the votes.- For the Contents, Messrs. Lopdon and RockBTuow will vote, because they represent iVoxton ; Crs. San Son and Gower, because they hope to have the line go to Gr< atford. and pass by their doors : Councillor \K.ebbelL s because — well, because he had pledged himself to the motion before he had fully considered its importance ; and he is too much of a gentleman to break his word. No doubt when this motion is carried—as carried it assuredly will be— aud at the instance of Councillor Gower forwarded to. the Government as the expression of opinion of the Council— -he Will hug himself with the pleasing belief that his masterstroke of policy will Work a revolution m the intention of the Ministry. Although certainly Councillor GoWeb by his little ruse will have gained numerically a majority of the Council, will he attempt to claim that the five affirmatives represent either the number of voters or the rateable value represented by the four members m the minority ? So that really placing the question upon its trial according to the method proposed by Councillor Gowbr, and taking a plebiscite of the people by the voices of their respective representatives, the County by a large majority will vote against the motion. In order to place the matter more plainly before our readers, we give them an extract from the County rate bonk for 1877, showing the rateable value m each tiding. Manchester ... ... £1(5,215 Tnnnui ... ... 6,888 Kiwitea ... ... 1,500 £24,R03 Awahou ... ... £9.868 Knua K:iwa ... ••■ 9.430 Ormia ... .. 8,3«8 Horowhenua ... ... 2,531 £30,200 Thus showing an advantage m favor of Foxton to the extent of £5.6 ><». Thu< far the sun shines upon -Councillor John Gowbr, but unfortunately there is an eclipse at hand, for when the rateable value of l he property m the town of Palmerston is thrown m, amounting to £L 0,200, the deficiency byco.nes an excess to the tune of £4. 6 X). How now, Mr. John Gower ? Then, again, viewing the matter according to population, we find according to the last Census the following return, which makes the County Council majority appear a bit of a fraud : — LOWER MANAWATU. Foxton .. ... ... 583 Awahou ... ... 241 llor<)vvhenua ... ' ... 19 J Orona .. ... ... <> >7 Kawa Kawa ... ... 6<>f» 2279 ifPPBQ MANANWATU. Manchester ... ... 10 ! tf» PVilding ... ... 7 9 Tnonni... ... ... 774 Kiwitea ... ... B'i Palmerston ... . 97 i 3597 Msij irity m favor of Upper Maniiwutu ... .. 1318 So that it will be seen that the Lnver Mauawatu, or what is known as the Poxton -party, with a rateable value of property auioutring- to £3 >,2-K), and a population of 2.275, has fiver members to represent it ; while the Upper Manawatu, with rateable value of £pp,ft>V, ami a population of 3,597 has biit-fuur: In the face of this glaring injustice, Mr John GoWßit would have the— well, modesty, to argue that if the five Poxton members carry anything m the Council.- it would be an expression of the Cmnty, as shown by tlu majority. As Mr. Gower is determined to put the matter on its trial that way, and allow tho vote of ea'-h member to represent the number of persons m his district, we are prepared to stand to tho issue. By that course a plebiscite of the residents of the County can be obtained, and eTen though the four up-county members are themselves out-numbered by the five lower-country ones, the voices they represent are as 3597 against 2276. We feel quite sure that after even those Undeniable truths are brought home to the energetic mover of the motion, he will not acknowledge himself defeated, but we will take good care that when the resolution which will be i-arried is forwarded to the Ministry, a few of those home truths will form an addendum.