The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 266, 5 November 1873, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1873.

Me. O'Conok has issued his manifesto and tbereip has displayed to the eas uai observer, as well as to those who look beneath the surface, bis. pitiable weakness. His speech was evidently carefully r got up. He must have bestowed much thought npon its preparation, have considered all that was to be said for and against bim, and after studying all the pros and cons, he seems to bave come to this conclusion — No esse for the plaintiff, abuse the other aide. And right well has he acted up to r the conclusion at which he had arrived, for, with one or two exceptioae, the wholeof the four columDs which we yesterday devoted to a report of his speech, consist of one tirade of abuse of Mr Curtis. It opened spicily. Some imaginary grievance about the Provincial Hall, "commenced what he bad to say agafast Mr Curtie," and, accompanied by a judieiouely-sweeteued morsel of sop to , " those who bad so charitably undertaken a work In aid of their church," formed a fitting introduction to tbat which was to follow. We do not propose to take up the cudgels in defence of Mr Curtis. He is well able to take care of himself, und uo doubt will do so when the fitting time and opportunity occurs. But what wo want to ascertain is, why Mr O'Conor should suppose that there is a chance of his receiving the support of the electors. And here, hat us at once stale most explicitly that we do not object to Mr O'Conor on the ground that he is a West Coast unsD, We have before now raised

our voice against the stupid distinction made ia the Council between the " members for the settled districts" and the " Goldfields* members." Our desire is to see the province working together as a whole, feeling assured as we do that the interests of those resident on both sides of the ranges are identical Send us a really goo.l man from the Goldfields. and wo will give him our hearty support, but to one who, lika Mr O'Conor, has persistently and consistently (until be became a candidate for the Superintendency) opposed every single measure calculated to advance the prosperity of tbe settled districts, we are prepared to offer tbe moet determined opposition Our desire is to assist in the advancement of the province ; Mr. O'Conor's is — to be Superintendent.. To attnin that, object he is prepared to eat his own words as greedily as though they formed the most Bavory of morsels,, and to net in direct contradiction of all his antecedents so far as tbey are known in our little world of politics. Hansard aud the Blue Book eontaiuing tbe Votes and Proceedings of the Provincial Council, con- i lain many gems which present a striking contrast to tbose which weare able to pick out here and there in perusing Mr O'Conor's speech, but it would be an act of extravagance on our part to string them ali together in oDe day, and we therefore propose to content ourselves for the nonce with commenting upon bis action witb regard to our Nelson and West Coast railway, leaving the others as themes for future articles. We shall take as our text Mr O'Conor's remarks upon tbis particular work, tho completion of which is looked upon by every one having tbe true interests of Nelson at heart as an .undertaking wbich ia to prove the salvation of the province. Hansard, as a rule, is bnt dry reading, but it is a aad tell-tale, and it may be as well to bear what it has 1 to say. We refer our readers to Vol. XI., p. 931, where they wil! find speeches from wbich we make the followiug extracts : — The Nelson and Foxhill line being under discussion, Mr Curtis said that the main object of the Bi 1 was not altogether to carry on tlie existing traffic, but to promote the ultimate extension to a part of the country which was specially adapted for occupation, and was possessed of great mineral wealth in the form of coal and gold mines. * * * The line proposed formed part of a line irom Nelson to Cobden and Westport, and tbey now desired to construct the first \ twenty miles of it. Mr Harrison * * * supportel the line, as he thought it was the initiation of a line that would open up a rich goldfieM country. It was oie of the few lines that would bo largely productive when extended. _ Mr Fitzherbert did not think that any of the lines 'proposed would be more conducive ro the interests of the colony than the line of railway under discussion. There was not a district in the whole country richer in unexplored mineral and he only regretted that the line 'was not extended to the rich goldfields of the Province of Ntlson. From this it will 'be seen most clearly nnd without a shadow of doubt that it-was distinctly understood that the Nelson and Foxhill line was to be but the commencement of a through line to tbe West Coast. Now listen to Mr O'Conor (Tho italics are our own) : — ' ; "■'■"'■' < As a candidate for the As a member 'of the Superintendency— 1873 House ~ 1871. With regard to the Taking the Foxhill Foxhill railway, my railway as the initial opinion ia still un- part of the through line changed. If it were from Nelson to Cobden, Pit to me whether ho desired to say that it £100,000 were to be formed part ot a scheme spent on that work or the mo3t entirely Quixhanded over t> the pro- otic that could well be vince lor other works, I imagined. * * * * should prefer the latter. Indeed, if the Nelsoh The position of affairs, and Cobden railway however, is now altered, ever was made, lie could and with Nelson as the not see where it was to terminus of a main hne get any trade, except a it is a different matter. very limited passengers' trade, and something more resembling a parcel delivery than goods traffic. It is really astonishing to notice to what extent candidates can change Iheir opinions under altered circumstances. Knowing full well tbat it was proposed to make Nelson the terminus of a through line, Mr O'Conor in his place in the House in 1871 opposed it as being a " most entirely Quixotic scheme." Endeavoring to obtain tlie support of the electors iv his candidature ior the Superintendency in 1873, he is pleased to say that." the position of affairs was altered with Nelson as the terminus of a main line." .No further baok, too, tbau the last session of the Council, Mr O'Conor, who has of a sudden conceived so great a fondness for Nelson and the surrounding districts, opposed the railway resolutions, and divided, the Council upon them, the minority, consisting soiely, we are thankful to eny, of himself and Mr Ivess, Mr O'Conor has solemnly warned the electors against being led away by the papers. We, ou the other hand, advise the electors to take into their most earnest consideration what bas fallen from Mr O'Conor, and to form their opinion of him from his own sayings. Bitterly opposed as Mr O'Conor has been for the last four years to everything calculated to benefit the settled districts, he now comes forward and tells ub he is prepared to uphold our interests to tbe utmost extent in his power. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? We ask the electors to bring tbeir own common sense to bear upon the subject. We invite them to attach the fullest importance lo Mr O'Conor's words spoken at various times and under different circumstances, and, wUhout taking into consideration any remarks we have made, to ask themselves — Is this a man whom we can trust? " Variable as the shade by the light quivering aspen made;" changeable as the most carefully oiled weathercock ; -trimming his sails to every breeze that appears to him calculated to favor his approach to the Superintendent's chair, Mr O'Conor has shown bia utter unreliability. .Forgetful of his antecedents, he is prepared to promise everything that he thinks is expected of him, notwithstanding that it is in dirfccl. violation of hia previously expressed

opinions. TNeed we say then to those whose support he is so hurailiatingly seeding that, like — and yet so unlike — the " maiden fair to see," he " is fooling thee"? The staunchest and most determined opponeut our railway has met witb, Mr O'Conor has yet the audacity to come forward and ask those he has beeu endeavoring to keep in tbe background toi give him their support— to ask them to place him in a position to defeat ihe scheme they bave most at heart. He really must underrate the intelligence of the people of Nelson and the surroundiug districts ; he must look upon them as a community of Little Red Riding Hoo^p, ready to leap into the deadly embrace of ths wolf, who for years paßt bas beeu lying in wait for an opportunity of devouring them, simply because be has temporarily a: rayed himself in a motherly-lookiug niohleap and pair of spectacles, assumed a kindly maternal aspect, and, by a strong effort, summoned up sufficient self control to restrain himself for a time from smacking his lips over the meal he is so greedily anticipating. But, as Mr O'Conor with much originality remarked tho other night, "Old birds are not to bu taught with chaff." With regard to ourselves we have a word or two to Bay to Mr O'Conor. He should be a httle more guarded in his abuse of persons and of the press. Because the Evening Mail is not to be taken in by his oily speeches and plentiful promises, it forms in bis opinion a portion of a " hireling press." Be it so. Mr O'Conor's unfounded abuse sounds as musio in our ears. We can r.fford to fall back on our past career, an-l to ask our many readers whether wo have not, wben called upon to do so, pointed out Mr Curtis' faults, and impressed upon him the necessity of remedying them; whether we have ever become his " servile flatterers;"., whether we have net taken up a throughly independent position, and shown beyond all doubt that the interests we have most at heart are, not Mr^Curtis*, but those of the province. As between the two candidates we mean to give our hearty support to Mr Curtis, not because our purses, as Mr O'Conor charitably suggests, u'ilj ue iv a more plethoric condition for so doing, but because we believe him to be by far- the better fitted of the two for the office to which both aspire; because we are of opinion tbat although somewhat wanting in energy, Mr Curtis may be urged on to use bis undoubted ability in .the direction of promoting the welfare -of the province of which he is now about to be re-elected the chief; because we believe tbat it is the first duty of everyone who is interested in' maintaining the unity of the province and securing for it the commencement' of thai great, public work, to the completion of whicli wa are looking forward, to suppress Mr O'Conor, and to prevent bis rising to a position, occupying which lie would have the power — he certainly has the will— to do us an infinity of harm. Prior to the commencement of this contest he sailed under his true colours, and we knew how far wo could trust him;' now tbat he is soliciting our votes he sails under false ones, but still we know what to think of him. .—*•■ ■ -limn ,1111 m-