THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1, 1879. THE FOX AND THE GRAPES.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 79, 1 October 1879, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1, 1879. THE FOX AND THE GRAPES.

"Wordsare things, and a drop of ink falling like dew upon a. thought, produces tliat which makes thousands, perhaps millions think."

The Knight of Westoe, after having been politically exiled from Wanganui, and then shut out from Rangitikei, has cast longing eyes towards thj^t: haven of refuge, Manawatu. Tbe South has .certainly given Mr. Waltej. Johnston his seat, but. he need not base his victory upon the strength of his supporters or his own superior advantages over a local candidate. That Mr. WAiTEa Jojinston at present holds a'seiat m Parliament is not owing to . the power of .South Mana,watUj but to the weakness by division of the North, and if out» rieighbops at the lower- end of the County hug themselves with the. delightful belief that the sebond seat is a gift m thevr patronage, we are very much afraid they willbe brought to bed of a very sad mistake indeed. According to our Poxton contemporary, Sir Willtam Pox has ; only to ' condescend to honor Manawatu with bis paLroDage r and the seat is his own ; to knock, and the door which admitted • the Lieutenant tp the. House ofߣ-_; prbsentatiyes^- will-- : b<r-^Brn*TiT?g open for the General. Oiiv coutecntemnorary does not say why it Bh6urd be "so, nor think It wo:--h its while to state ; the panicula'* o 1 aim upon which the defeated Leade.* bases his right to the second seat for Mahawatti. Manawatu has already obtained one absentee member, and the best fate that is desighed for it is' that it shall be a fall-back for any politioal Is'rmaelite whose misdeeds or shootcom^ngs may haye oan sed him to be- -driven into exile by his own people, If. it wove a case- of stern necessity that the electors fdiould look beyond the bounds of the County for a representative, it would be our duty to select one who— like Mr. Johnston .— rwoukl .confer a A oredit u pon his constituency, upon whose faith and honor they could rely, and whose word could be trusted by the eleotors before being sent into the Houses and by its members when iv it. The reason that placed Mr. Letin m Parliament is i ' the one which should.keep Sir Wjlltam Pox out of it-— the one had no political experience and had no enemies ; the other has had too much of it, and while he has neither friends or followers, the want. is amply compensated for m multitude of his foes. The late member for Wanganui has been consigned to well-earned bucolic obscurity, and we are afraid that his admirers will be doomed to disappointment if they imagine that Manawatu will . assist him to enact the role of Cincinnati^, arid substitute the sword for the ploughshare. The South has gained a victory, and although we fought our best to reverse the result, it has. been of suoh a nature as to rob the defeat of half its sting; but were the County to be compelled to go abroad for a second representative— and suoh a one as that proposed— it would be a lasting disgrace upon the Gonstitueuoyv With two members, the only objection against Mr Johnston would be removed-^-pro-yjdingTfchat the second was a local man. Then indeed some of the arguments used m favor of absentee representatives would hold good, as while the one would be always m Wellington to press immediate wants upon the Government when Parlia, ment was out of Session, the local man could coach his city confrere with regard to, the many requirements of the district. Mr. John, ston m the past has 0 at- all times proved himself ;most energetic m dealing with matters brought under his notice, and his efforts, backed up by a local man, "would have the constituency admirably represented. Itfsyp well known that Sir WiLjiiAM Pox is strongly m faivor of the Sandon line. being made the main West Coast Line, inasmuch as it would COflsidei'ably §ftkanG§ th§ yalue o{

the worthy K-uisrht's property m and about G-reatford, and perhaps that one fact may account for his selection by our contemporary, and give a key to to the "milk m the cocoa-nut." With the prospect of being saddled with such a .Ton-att. we imagine Palmerston and would again row m the same boat, on board of which the chosen of Eoxton, though the rejected of Wanganui, would ohtain no foothold; and we would I'ist remind our Southern neighbors that while 493 votes put Mr. Johnston m, 649 oould put Sir William Pox out.