THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1879. A MODEL POLITICIAN.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 39, 26 March 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1879. A MODEL POLITICIAN.

"Words tire things, ami a drop of ink falling lik« dow npon a thought, produce* th nt which mokM thoimnUi, perhaps millions think."

The electorß of Awahou are certainly not to be congratulated upon the possession of their junior representative m the County Council, whose erratic conduct — to put the mildest construction upon his antics — is fast briuging the proceedings of that body into contempt, impeding legislation, and making the deliberations of the Council a bye-word of scorn and vidicule throughout the County. The impulsive Councillor alluded to appears to be -somewhat m the predicament of the old gentleman m the lunatic asylum, who, upon being asked how he came to be there, replied, " I thought the whole world was mad ; the world said I was mad, and as.it was the strongest, itxarried the day." Councillor Rocksthow has struck out a bold line for himself, and though not elected to the honor of presiding over the Council, he appears to think it is his especial mission, to sit m judgment upon the occupant of: the chair, and to force upon him his peculiar ideas of the 1 duty of such officials. Under the old regime, when Mr. Thvnitb was Chairman, Councillor Rocksteow's refrain was that that gentleman smiled at him' m a manner wlueh was insulting. We know that Mr. Thyxne wears a c ironic smile of placidity, but from what we ourselves have seen of the gesticulations, grimaces, and contortions of Councillor Eocksteow when the spirit mores him, we could easily forgive a more palpable expression of amusement. However, Mr. Thynkk's successor is not one of the smiling kind ; lie is a plain, hard, matter-of-fact man, who visits the Council to transact its business, not to listen to the silly nonsense of every verbose twaddler, and, as might have been expected, the excited eloquence palled upon his taste. He knew when he had" had enough of a good thing, and he knew when he had ~ v w«» rr -^- ' •'•• '.*,. ."■ni — .^lu^fjgu^r^ sthow has a weakness tor heaving the sound of his own voice, the Chairman very properly considered it his duty to draw the line somewhere, and put a legitimate restraint upon the effervescing eloquence of that gentleman. This was an indignity not to be borne, and forthwith an attack was made upon the Chairman as unseemly as it was uncalled for. It was the story of the old mad gentleman again. Councillor ItocKSTBOw told Councillor MACABTHua what he had previously told his predecessor, that neither of them knew the duties' of the office to which they had been elected ;. that he alone could fill the chair with dignity and effect ; and that it Avas his mission to teach the erring occupants the proper mode of administering the office. With such a pitiable example of Councillor liocKSTßbw's inability to conduct himself with decorum as a private member, it is scarcely to be wondered at that, the Chairman should repudiate such questionable patronage, and the assertion met with the contempt' it deserved. To such a length, however, did the recalcitrant Councillor proceed, that it was not until a threat was held over him that order would be maintained even at tke expense of his forcible ejection, that he became sensible of his weakness, and the fiitility of his endeavors to bully arid browbeat, The Council meets but once a month ; the last ordinary sitting lapsed for want of a quorum ; and at tliat; held on Friday, the proceedings were a disgrace to a 'civilised community, and of such a nature as to disgust th»* respectable members of the Council from attending meetings which frustrate the ends for which they wore convened, and but draw crowd of vulgar listeners who put m an appearance for the amusement afforded, just as they would patronise a bull bait, or some of the intellectual amusements which the Council meetings so much resemble.