THE BULLER ELECTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 304, 22 December 1881, Page 4

THE BULLER ELECTION.

# There eeeuas to have been more excitement and inn over the election in Weeport t'naa anywhere else. Tke limes tbjt: — "• The result of (he Westport polling, B CD! jorify of 42 for Munro, surpriaed the other tide, ami "nought beaming Binilesi, lo the eouiitacaneea of Munrcr's supporters rd(l loud cbeera from iheir (hrrals. Betiitg, which had been very brisk all day, was brought J o a efandstill, but tit a qaarttr to seven the O'Conorites showed anxiety lo lay more money, sod of course, with the information iq tha pfS3eEsion of the pab:ie, theie was no luck of takers. At a lew^incies after seven it was mode known that Mr O'Conor h.d telfgraiihed. frcm Char'-ston, giving bis majority there os 49. Eh suppoit-re then cbeored as ioudiy as the other bide had do^p ha f sn hour befcre, cn>i look?d, if possible happier. This O'CoDor a lead of s^vep, ocd hig port)vre in. high hopes, 'ihe irein fiOT Waireasgtroa was next locked for, nnd when it arrived it was found ihai Munro bed polled a cntjority of 16 there, brieyiJia him up to 15 a head of his oppoc-e- f. Ttib Muarohes cheered, aod lbs 0 Qj-rriies a ivisad them not to crow until A idiaou's came ic. Lyei! ■was the next return to arrive. Hriv Munro bad n m^rity of 22, &etui;;£ him a bad wit'; a lead of 31. His supporters v er- d.li^bta). Mr Z. C. Horn (wo ha ' baea delayed by carelessteaa of it o puat mac) got info (own shortly sftfr-.yards aod reported a mr-joriiy at Addisen's Fiat (or O'Conoi of 27 Brighton came i ext—mßja:ity for O'Conor 7 — bringing him 3 a hea.! of hia opponent. At this stage the ex - citfment was wild, both si.iea et^kin" cash freely. Tha last return tt-le grspbeti we 6 from Hacnpden, wherp Munio polled 7 a head, thus nuking his do jority the narrow one of 4. The returns from the Junction tn'» Glenroy oid not come to hand ut. til 1,45 p.m on {Saturday. At th 6 former beoth O'Concr poled 5 in exceeo of Muaro, and at the latter 3, thus giving O'Conor the advantage by 4 votes. The cheering when this announcement was made was loud end long. After the receipt of the newi of the polling at Junction and G'enroy, on Saturday afternoon, the supporters of Mr O'Coaor looked upon tha election as won, and it um?t be confused that the an jority of the other side were Dot in the highest hope?, although those who knew Karamea stated that O'Conor never would get a majority there. The candidate himself, with Roll in band, pointed out the names of the settlers who would give him a majority of fifteen. At his meeting on Wednesday night lasf, Mr O'Conor also said : —" The voting at Karamea will show what the people there thick of me and my adminißtr&tica c( the Settlement. I will poll four »o one there." Id view oi theae statements it is not surprising that 50 to 1 wa9 effored on O'Conor without Ukere. The news of the Karamea voting arrived at both cads of the town siosuhaneouiiy — at the Railwby Sntioa by traio, nLd at the lower ted by separate hoistimen, one who had obtained the information at theOrawniti from a passenger leav ing the train tt Servant's Hill, and the other who met Mr Muaro 14 roilea along t c beach. The congregation op town did not observe Mr Mullaos, th^ Deputy RfturnJDg Oflic r, until he had reached the front of the Post Office. Mr O'Conor and a Munroite gained his side together, and in reply to their inquiries Mr Mullans stated that the figures were — Munro, 25; O'Conor, 13. From some inexplicable cause Mr O'Conor misunderstood the position of the candidates, raised his hat in the air and gave the cry of victory. His cheer was taken up enthusiastically by his supporters, the supposed successful candidate was hoisted shoulder high, ami carried up the street. At the same time Munroites to a large number, possessed of the facts, also cheered lustily. The scene at this stage beggars description — it was one of tumultuous excitement, seldom witnessed at elections since the introduction of the ballot system. The first to suspect the truth from the cheers of victory and cries of derision of his opponents was O'Conor himself. He struggled down from his pinnacle of eminence, but his friends, dull of comprehension in their enthusiasm, would not let him free, and he had to make use of his stick to keep them off. One man was struck on the forehead and a wound inflicted, and ! another received a sounding blow on the head that staggered him. These casualties were, of course, purely accidental. When Mr O'Conor did get free from the crowd and satisfied himself as to the correctness of the polling, bis features were a study. He talked wildly of the ballot box being " doctored," but soon subsided into taciturnity. At the lower end of the town, where no mistake was made j rounds of cheers were given for Mr Munro.