CHEVIOT COUNTY ELECTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 3, 3 January 1877, Page 4

CHEVIOT COUNTY ELECTION.

; • - (JRangiora Standard.) I THB Hd_f^/;^pBINSbN\BETUR-rED.-^- ; 'No contest. ; — Candidate be- I turned on* the non- permissive i ;,Tick_t. — Unitersal Re jo.cisgs. A ti ATA/ December 17. The nomination for the County of Cheviot? took place as advertised, on tbe 16th inst. All the electors in the dis- '■ ;trict were" present iu the person of the Honorable W. Robiason, M.L.C' The j Returning Officer, Mr J. S. Caverhill, having succeeded after several ineffectual attempts, in obtaining order, read the Writ, and explained to tbe audience the mode in which the election would be conducted. He had made a trifling mistake in advertising the notice of it in the public prints, having headed it "County of Collingwood" instead of ** County of Cheviot," but it mattered little. Collingwood was in the Nelson : province, and Cheviot was rapidly extending in that direction; should any , disputes arise as to the illegality of bis proceedings he was ..prepared to snap his . fingers at it, and would seek the . assistance of tbe successful candidate whe could scarcely fail to be one of the "Lord-V and Who, in his place in the Upper House, would soon lobby tbe whole thing into a nutshell, to the satisfaction of all concerned. He now called, upon the influential and intelligent'tiody of independent ratepayers, which he saw before. him, to proceei to business and propose a sspond candidate. After a pause and much cogitation on the part of the audience, - The Honorable /William Robinson briefly proposed the Honorable William Robinson as a fit and proper person to represent. the people of the district in the County of Cheviot. ,■ The Honorable William Robinson, in a : few Weil-chosen words seconded the motion. The Returning Officer said it was almost an insult to tbe large, independent, and influential constituency, which he saw before him, to ask whether any other candidate would be brought forW.afd. However, he had to do his duty, and that he would do et.roly, without, fear, favor Aor good red herring. (Laughter.) He begged to correct himself. It was a lapsus lingua,.. the weather was so hot;; he meant; fear, favor, or hope of good things to come, -Would the ratepayers present propose another candidate? The Honorable William Robioson aaidjthSy would not. The Returning Officer then proclaimed the Honorable William Robin-sou-as being duly elected as the representative of the County of Cheviot, and called for three cheers for the successful candidate, which were lustily given by the Honorable William Robinson. ; The Honorable William Robinson then proceeded to return thanks, and express his views with regard to the work wtiich he eaid the proud position in which he bad been placed by the iarge and influential electorate, would e a tail upon bim. He assured tbat electorate that he had never felt before so keen a sense of responsibility, as he did at that moment. He was placed by the people of Cheviot in a position of . trust and responsibility, which had - ' scarcely any precedent, and he deeply fi.lt the magnitude of that trust. To look after one's own affairs was one thing, to minister to the wants and interests of others was quite a different master. He now held in his bands *he future welfare of a large and in- , fluential body of independent men, women, and children, liviog in peace ajid harmony under the peaceful mgidi'im of responsible Government, and lie felt keenly the all-absorbing importance of the trust reposed freely and unconditionally in bis keeping. Tbat keeping, be had hope would prove a -safe keeping, and ad the people by their voice' had elected hi go to that pinnacle upon which be now stood, his own family motto henceforth would be set aside and discarded, and be would adopt the much nobler one of Vox populi, Vox Mobimoni. (Tremendous cheering). He thanked the large and £ jfluential body of independent iar« payers-present for that expression of goodwill eo enthusiastically given. It would nerve him to greater things still. Sir Cracroft Wilson had not long ago stated, at a Christchurch public meeting tiiat he (Sir Cracroft Wilson), was prepared to shed the last drop of his blue blood in. defence of the Land Fund of Canterbury! Well, he (Mr Robinson) Would go further, even if he fared worse; he would — and that freely too — shed tbe last drop of bis blood in defence of the lands of Cheviot. The question of finance, of ways end means, would be an all important one, and one which would agitate to the uttermost the commercial energies of tbat large and influential body of ratepayers which populated so thickly the newiy-ttiade County of Cheviot, For his part he would promise to undertake the management of all matters relating to it. There would be no expensive staff of County officials. No eagineers, surveyors, accountants, ledger-keepers, «ct. The accounts of the County he would himself rigidly audit, and any deficiency in the profit and loss side of the ledger, he. faithfully pledged them his word he would take upon himself in all its entirety, (Cheers.) The Bank of New Zealand, he thought, Would be tho preferable medium A through which to communicate with ; A tjie; Wellington authorities ; nothing A^AJnit results favorable to Cheviot would

eventuate through that means of influ-l encing the Ministry of that day. He| had little more to add, but to thank his; proposer and seconder, and the large; and influential body of independent! ratepayers before him, for their kind appreciation of himself. One of his! numerous family mottoes was "The greatest good 'for the greatest number;"' that number he proudly said waa one, ; being indeed the precise number as well i of tbe large and influential body of electors before him, aod the latter would benefit accordingly. Before ' separating, he desired to assure the j Returning Officer, Robert Caverhill, | Esq., the gentleman who had so faithfully and patiently discharged the. onerous duties of his office, that the small and inconsequent illegality. which that zealous offioer had committed when publishing the notice of the election under the name of "Collingwood" instead of Cheviot need not cause him tbe slightest uneasiness. He (the Hon. William Robinson) would see to it, and introduce • at the next-session of the Assembly a Bill entitled "An Aet to legalise all and every and divers acts and actions of omission, commission, or otherwise, proposed, allowed, thought of, or implied, by one Robert Caverhill, of the County of Cheviot, and other and divers places, gentleman." He again thanked the large and influential body of independent electors present for their -kindness and patience; and; knew that they would believe him when he told tbem from the bottom ol his . heart , that he cared more for them and their, interests than for aU: the World besides. (Deep emotion.) The Canterbury Land Fund might be filched from them; yet; so long as their interests were conserved he would ba content. (Tutr.ol.uous applause). A vote of thanks to the Returning Officer brought the interesting proceed- | ings to a close, when, at the invitation of the candidate, the whole of the influential and independent electors, accompanied by the Returning Officer, proceeded to the hospitable mansion of " Cheviot Hills," where a magnificent repast awaited them, and festivities were kept up until a late hour.