THE ELECTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 297, 11 December 1873, Page 2

THE ELECTION.

There are few of our readers who will not be heartily glad tbat the election is over, and the large majority of them will look upon the result as satisfactory. Considering the bard kDocks that bave been fo plentifully given and taken since the commencement of the contest, the good humored mapner in which the polling. day passed off was most creditable to the people of Nelson. Of fun there waa plenty; bands comprising the most wonderful instruments played upon by musicians arrayed in strange costumes paraded the streets during the day, and up to a late hour last night, when the time kept by the drummer became a little unsteady and faltering; stump orators addressed the populace and expressed opinions on the political situation (hat possessed the merit of novelty in a large degree : caricatures, tbe conception and execution of which told us that we had in our midst a satirist possessed of more than ordinary talent, adorned the walls of Mr Curtis' Committee Room, while, on the other side, the senße of humor was certainly not wanting, as was shown by the exhibition of a cage containing two cocks, the one alive and gaily decorated with ribbons, supposed to represent the candidate from the far West, the other lying dead at his feet, and labelled, in the early part of the morning, " The Wangapeka Pet.' This, however, was a little later in the day altered to " Little Breeches," it having been pointed but to the author of tbe joke that tbe " Wangapeka Pet " might be taken to mean the late editor of one of the papers in this town. The excitement that prevailed in Mr Curtis's Committee room during the evening as the telegrams came pouring in from the various potling places is past description, and the astonishing success that he met with on the West Coast was greeted with loud and repeated applause as message after message was delivered, all but three conveying the news that Mr O'Conor was either beaten or had succeeded in securing only a small majority in the districts from which tbey were dated. The exertions that mu3t have been made by the Charleston Committee were specially appreciated by Mr Curtis' supporters in Nelson. It had frequently been predicted that the result of the polling would take many by surprise, that Mr Curtis would meet with far more support on the West Coast than was expected, and that Mr O'Conor would surprise us by the number of votes he would poll in the settled districts, and those who prophesied thus were perfectly right in their calculations, the numbers in the latter (Takaka and Collingwood excepted), so far as wej have yet learned, being for Mr Curtis 876, for Mr O'Conor 440, or very nearly one to two, while on the Coast Mr O'Conor has polled only 742 to Mr Curtis' 576. The battle being over we can but express our phi -a •>> fi'',-<.-;i>* >* at the triumph of the cuußt hr whicU wo

•av* fought so hard. Our opposition to Mr O'Conor haß arisen from an honest conviction that he was not the man to whom it would be desirable to hand over

the management of our provincial affairs. He has fought manfully and well, but has been decisively defeated, nevertheless*, we; ißink he has done good service in stirring the proviuce from,one end to tbe other to a sonso of its political duties. We have been thoroughly wakened up duriog tho last month, let us determine to remain awake. The. following is the result of the polling so far as it was known up to the time of oue. going to press: —

Present majority for Mr Curtis, 269. This will. probably be increased by the returns yet to be received. The result of the polling in Golden Bay is expected by the Lady Barkly about 9 o'clock this evening.

An express belonging to Mr Lennon, of Oamaru (Otago), with its load, consisting of some valuable mouldingg and a staircase for Mr Menlove's new houso at Windsor Park, was destroyed by lira en route, the load having caught firo in some mysterious way. The loss ia estimated at £150. A Canterbury contemporary says : — Mr Bartlett, the fishmonger, of Timaru, haviug occasionally met with some success in fishing off the coast, though as a ruie he was unrewarded for his expenditure and toil, this week ventured out to try his luck with the lines, and caught for his day's work — about twenty sharks.

The following curious cricketing item is from the New Zealand Herald :— "Mr W, L. Rees, of cricketing as well of legal fame, played a novel game with the 'willow' upon "Saturday last, at the North Shore. He matched himself against eleven other players, at single wicket, he being allowed men to field for him, and the result was that ho beat the eleven in one innings, and had seventeen runs to spare. The eleven in their two innings made only twelve runs, whilst Mr Rees in his first innings scored twenty-nine. A large concourse witnessed the match, jWhich caused much amusement and not a little excitement. Mr Rees's slows it was that did the mischief."

By papers from Fiji, per schooner Herald, we learn that Captain Simpson, of the Blanche, has forbidden the promulgation of the new Constitution for the present. A large number of rebels have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment for fighting against the Government. The missionary meeting this year amongst the natives of Bau, has been most successful, exceeding all expectations. The attendance was large, dresseß and makes good, and the donations most liberal. There were between eighty and ninety pounds collected, a sura considerably in advance of the subscriptions of last year. This must be the more pleasing to the missionaries, as the gifts are entirely voluutary. A large party of police and soldiers went into the Lovoni hills for the purpose of seeking refugee foreign laborers who had taken refuge there. Three refugees were found, one of whom was shot dead, the other two escaping. It is stated that " one of his Majesty's Ministers will proceed under instructions via Honolulu to Washington, and most likely on to Europe for the purpose of pressing upon the great powers the claims of tbis kingdom to the , fullest recognition". ' Auckland Star.'

Personation seems to have been carried on to a great extent at the Thames duriog the late Su per io tendency election, and a number of people were given in charge for it. Tbe ' Advertiser ' says that at the election four years ago a man was given in custody in Auckland for personation. He was brought before the Police Court, and formally committed for trial, and allowed at large on bail. When the caae was called on before the Supreme Court, it was found that the accused had, by the assistance of certain influential friends, fled the country, and on making a search for the ball bonds, it was dis" covered that they had been made away with. The matter was then bushed up. How it was that with a Minister of Justice, a Chief Justice, and all the other high legal and moral functionaries, no inquiry was made as io how the bail bonds came to be made awuy with, our contemporary never could understand, but now expresses a hope that there will be no miscarriage about the present cases, aud six) s that if those who are found guilty receive the sentence of two years' imprisonment, the effect will be to sweeten tha breath of elections at the Thames, Personation has been notoriously rampant at all the elections on this field, and surely it ought to be put a stop to if possible.

The most recent illustration of Barnum- ; ; ism in America is the purchase by an astute Yankee of the veritable : uniformwonf by Frederick the Great. ■ Thelpref ' cious garments have chahged harHlsafo.od* deal, and a Pruarian princo wanted to buy them, but the prioe )£1200) floored him, and the American competitor carried off the apparel iu triumph. , A Cincinnati man, whb suspected his servant girl of using kerosene to kindle the Ore with, thought ho would try her one night; so he poured the oil out and filled tha can with water. Tho next morning there was no' 'breakfast and no fire to cook it— nothing but a stove full of soaked wood and the foolishest looking girl he ever saw. ' .

A paper is going round about a girl in Chester, Vt., dying fros tight lacing. A religious editor, commenting on the fact, says:— "These corsets should be done away ; and if the girls can't live without being squeezed, wq s-uppoae men could be found who would sacrifice themselvls. As old as we are we would rather devote three hours a day, without a cent, of pay, as a brevet corset, than see these girls t dying off in that, manner. Office hours almost ahy time."

Curtis. O'Conor. Provincial Hall, Nelson • 301 113 Oddfellows' Hall, Nelsoa 61 92 Suburban North ... 37 10 Stoke ... • 34 'jt Richmond 70 33 Spring Grove 34 35 Wakefield 44 10 Upper Wakefield ... 29 21 WaimeaWest- 32 23 Motueka 86 24 Lower Moutere ■ ... 13 6 Upper Moutere ' ... 47 20 Ngatimoti ... ... 17 . "3 Kiwaka 30 17 Motueka Valley ... 10 6 Wangapeka 8 3 Dovedale 4 13 Collingwood Slate River ... ;.. Clifton Takaka ' Westport 65. 193 Brighton 35 29 Black's Point 22 14 Reefton 53 78 Granville 28 20 Hatter's Terrace ... 8 9 Moonlight ... ... .6 9 Boatman's \._, .... 4 50 Brunnerton, ... ... 16 20 Lyell ... ...;;... Matakitaki ..;-.'• ... Upper Matakitaki ..... No Town .;,'• . ... Addison's ..''."*' .... 18 . 57 GiLas Terrace -. 58 ...'..'... 12 In an gahua Junction .;; " 6* ' 4 Charleston ; .;. ■■-„. 172 177 Cobden .;. ... 35 64 Ahhura ... ... 50 7 Waiau 18 « 2 Hanmer Plain ... 1 1 1452 11 S3