The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, MAY 20,1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 119, 20 May 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1872.

The addresses of the three candidates for the representation of our town in tbe General Assembly have been delivered, and the electors have now but a week before them in which to make up tbeir minds as lo the relative merits of those who seek their support. In commenting upon the speeches of the three gentlemen who have offered themselves for election, we will, in deference to the powers that be, give precedence to Mr. Luckie, who is essentially the Ministerial candidate. In the opening sentence of his address, he stated that he was laboring under a great disadvantage in following an old., campaigner such as Mr. Richmond, but in listening to his speech we came to the conclusion, which was confirmed by its after perusal, that it was a very fortunate thing for Mr. Luckie that he. had been preceded by one who was able to open the ground for him, as his own remarks were entirely wanting in originality, and were but running comments upon those made by Mr. Richmond on the previous evening. However, it is not fair to be too severely critical upon bis speech as he pleaded illness as his excuse for any of its shortcomings, a plea that we are perfectly willing to allow, as we are free to confess that we have on many occasions heard him address a public meeting to far greater advantage than on tbat night. We have complained of the want of originality in what fell from him, but there was one remark that all must admit waß perfectly original, and one that very few candidates would have had the boldness, we may almost say effrontery, to make. It is well known that the weakest point with the present Ministry, and the one on which they are assailed on all sides, is their administration of the finances of the country, and we, in common, we believe, with the large majority of those present, went to tbe meeting with the full expectation of hearing as able a defence of their conduct in this respect as their champion was able to make. But, instead of this, what did we hear ? The whole matter was flippantly disposed of with the passing remark that finance was too "abstruse" a subject to be then treated of. Too " abstruse " ! Imagine a gentleman who contemplated becoming a partner in a business firm refusing to take into consideration its pecuniary circumstances because it was too " abstruse " a subject. Was it that he underrated the intelligence of his audience, and was of opinion that, if the real state of the _ finances of the country were plainly put before them, they would have been unable to understand the ; position of the colony, or to appreciate the danger in which it stood; or was it that he cleverly substituted the word "abstruse" for "unsatisfactory" as an ingenious way of getting out of the difficulty ? We are inclined to the latter belief, as we cannot but think that if he had seen his way to explain away the charges tbat are made against the Government of lavish and wasteful expenditure of the public funds, he would not have sought shelter behind the very comprehensive term " abstruse." Mr. Luckie is far too well known in Nelson for it to be supposed for a single instant that he would have been guilty of such an error, and the only explanation of the desperate but somewhat transparent course he chose to adopt.is that he saw his difficulty, and instead of facing, carefully avoided it, in the hope that, under the cloud of dust he was throwing in the eyes of the electors by his reference to the old war loan, the fact that he was begging the question might pass unnoticed. • Mr. Luckie's speech may be looked upon as containing his creed ; the questions and answers- that followed as his catechism, in which are contained -the reasons he; ( hW[toigfve ( for|t^eriaith J1 that is in him. :; The impression cd r by th&t creed, which certainly presented 'many im.

perfections in its repetition, is that he is a firm believer iv the present Ministry, but after hearing the wholesale manner in which he condemned their actious iv his replies to tbe few home questions that were afterwards put lo hira, we can only wonderiugly enquire why he should be so. However, we have his own word for it that he does support and believe in them, and it is important that this should be borne in mind in reading the following quotations, which, be it remembered, are his own words, we having italicised those to which we wish to call particular attention. It is understood then that an avowed supporter of the Government is under examination. Hear what he has to say. A determined catechist, wbo'wiU not allow his questions to be evaded in any way, wishes to know Mr. Luckie's views on " the present Ministerial immigration policy." Mr. Luckie, without hesitation, replies : — " Ido not approve of the immigration policy as it now stands, I do not approve of it as carried out." Here we have that which is considered by the Ministry to be one of the proudest and most conspicuous feathers in their cap, torn out and trampled under foot by their most ardent supporter, who approves neither of their po'icy nor of their administration of it. We now come to the Twopenny Stamp Duty, one of the Ministerial children so doted upon and admired by its progenitors, so abhored and hated by everybody else. As a friend of the family, Mr. Luckie must have felt rather nonplussed when questioned as to his opiniou of this little bantling, but seeing tbat his election depended upon it, ho risked giving offence to the parents, and replied to the query " What is your opinion of the stamp, duties?" — "I think that the twopenny duty is a mistake, and that an addition to the existing stamp duty was impolitic." Yet another " impolitic mistake " on the part of the Ministry tbat Mr. Luckie has taken under his sheltering wing. " Will you support the bread tax ? " Mr. Luckie, remembering that the constituency he wishes to represent is a consuming rather than a producing body, guardedly replies : — I have not made up my mind on the question of protection." His model Government may be right or may be wrong on this point, . but at all events he is not quite sure than he can approve of their action in this respect. The San Francisco mail service was the next subject of examination, and tbe replies were twofold in their character. In answer to Mr. Rowell, who, evidently, was himself opposed, to the service,. Mr, Luckie said without hesitation :— -"I opposed it from the first. I waa dead against it." The same question was, a little later on, put by Mr. Collins, clearly with a view to obtaining from Mr. Luckie a condemnation of this part of the Ministerial programme, but suddenly, that gentleman, whose memory is not usually faulty, and on this occasion indeed carried him back so far as the Panama service, became peifectly oblivious, and he could no more remember whether or not he had been opposed to the mail contract than call to mind what he " had for dinner a fortnight ago." Mr. Luckie, we should imagine, is scarcely accustomed to the luxurious but somewhatmonotonouß fare with which out settlers in a pastoral country have frequently; to be contented, consisting, of mutton and damper on Sunday, damper and mutton on Monday, and so :on through the week, but, living, as he does in a civilised town, his, cuisine is probably of a much more varied nature, so that it would be manifestly unfair to expect him to remember what he had for! dinner a fortnight ago, seeing that since then he has had thirteen other dinners, each of them, no doubt, differing in many respects from tbat which preceded it. Is the same to be said of his opinions of a scheme which is costing the country £50,000 a year ? ; But the most startling of all Mr. Luckie's replies we have reserved for the last. In the course of his speech he said that if the Ministry were ever found wanting, or if jobbery were ever proved against them, no vote would be more readily recorded against them than bis. When asked his opinion of the notorious Board of Works which Ministers endeavored to foist upon the public, he replied " I quite agree with Mr. Richmond that it was an attempt to place corruption on the Statute Book." Was ever a graver charge brought against the Government by even their most determined opponents ? On the whole they can scarcely feel flattered on learning their supporter's views bf their actions, as brought out under crossexamination., but it is just as well, that these have beeD made known, as the electors are now fully aware that in returning Mr. Luckie they would be sending ,rto the House a representative who is' : prepared to give his support**-""-fprtunately,;a nating.-^^ne7^to•a^^Mmißtry,'.wll6sgi•«otions he himself has described as .impolitic, mistaken, and corrupt.

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Sudden Death. — We regret to state tbat a telegram was received in town this morning to the effect that Mr. Nelson, solicitor, of Blenheim, died suddenly yesterday afternoon. New Zealand University.— The examination of candidates for the University Scholarships commenced at the Provincial Government Buildings this morning, under the supervision of the Rev. G. H. Johnstone. Nelson furnishes nine competitors in the great colonial contest. Acclimatisation. — We are informed that by the Rangitoto, which will arrive here from Melbourne about tbe end of the week, a number of bares are expected by the Secretary of the Acclimatisation Society, who is to send in exchange some of the pheasants and Californian quail which- now abound in Nelson. Nelson City Rifles. — At the special meeting of this Company held at the Drill Shed, on Tburday evening last, Mr. G. Sinclair was elected Captain in the place of C. L. Maclean, Esq., resigned; Ensign A. W. Barnett, Lieutenant, in the place of Mr. McCabe, resigned* and Sergt. Burn, Ensign, in the place of A. W. Barnett, promoted. The Amuri. — A meeting was held in the Amuri on Thursday evening last, at which there was a large attendance of the residents in the district. The object was to pass resolutions in favor of separation from Nelson and annexation to Canterbury, and the greatest unanimity was displayed on the subject. It was also proposed that, failing separation, an endeavor should be made to secure local self-government. Mr. Saunders' Lectures. — Mr. Saunders will give a lecture on physiology at the Temperance Hall this evening, when he proposes to describe in simple language, avoiding all technical terms, tha constitution of our bodies and the circulation of the blood, especially with a view to impressing'on his audience the importance of fresh air, and the rationnale of hydropathic treatment. On. Tuesday evening he will -describe and illustrate the temperaments and show how character may be indicated by the head, face, chest, formation; .walk, and even hand-writing. On this occasion the lecture will be illustrated, by . portraits of European celebrities, • and possibly will not be without some allusion to the most prominent public men in New Zealand. /Seats will be reserved for ladies. Extraordinary- Suicide, — A most extraordinary, suicide- was perpetrated at Waikaka a few days ago. The party, a miner, living in a hut alone, and before he

hanged himself put on a complete suit of woman's apparel— stockings, boots, chemise stays, petticoats, and over all a black silk gown ; while to keep the rope from hurting him, or breaking the skin of his neck, he had folded the towel neatly, so as come between the rope and bis neck. He had been dead for some time when found. Verily the man must have been methodically mad.