THE ELECTION FOR WELLINGTON CITY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4603, 21 December 1875, Page 3

THE ELECTION FOR WELLINGTON CITY.

' 1 THE NOMINATION. Yesterday, at noon, an assemblage of about 400 electors and others gathered in front of the Resident Magistrate’s Court to witness the nomination of candidates. , The Returning Officer (J. C. Crawford, Esq.,) having read the writ, called upon the proposers and seconders of the respective candidates to come forward. Mr. George Crawford proposed _ Mr. Pearce as a fit person to represent the city in the Legislative Assembly. Major Paul seconded. Mr. E. W. Mills proposed Mir. George Hunter. Mr. Wit Lyon seconded. Mr. J. H. Williams proposed Hr. C. Moody. Mr. Charles Blatt seconded. Mr. Hexry Hunt proposed Mr. Travers. Mr. Trueman seconded. Mr. Pearce, who was greeted with applause upon coming forward to reply, said tbat as he had addressed the electors of the city very recently upon the principal topics of the day, it would be unnecessary for him to take up much of their time on that occasion. Those who were present at the Odd Fellows -Hall on Wednesday last heard him speak out in plain language, and with no uncertain sound ; and he hoped that those who had not heard him at that meeting had done him the favor since to read his speech. At the last general election the contest lay between the supporters of the policy of the Government of the day, and the opponents of that policy. (Mr. Travers ; No.) Mr. Hunter and himself had emphatically declared in favor of immigration and public works, and Mr. Travers and Mr. Richmond represented the Opposition.. (Mr. .Travers : Ho.) Mr. Pearce said he would ask Mr. Travers not to interrupt him, as he had the advantage over him in having the opportunity of speaking after him. Resuming the thread of his discourse, he said he desired to point out that at the last general election parties were clearly defined ; and he maintained that the progress which New Zealand had made, and the growth which Wellington had attained within the last five years, had been mainly due to the fact that the country endorsed those measures which they had returned their late representatives to support, and which from the first they had consistently adhered to. To-day ■ there seemed to be little difference of opinion between the candidates. It was rather a question of men than of measures. There were only two or three leading subjects which had been bafmv, constituencies up to the present time. These questions were: the impending Constitutional changes, education, and the incidence of taxation. He maintained, with regard to the first, it should be a fundamental principle that committees, as, well as individuals, should he allowed to manage their own affairs in their own way, provided they did so under one common law. Upon the second point he was in favor of the State confining itself to secular education, that is, to a _ p^^_u iilcc~l-»ira--»>«lv=cailnati o nal system; and any system securing that he would be prepared to support. With regard to the incidence of taxation, he thought that every man should contribute to the cost of the Government of the colony in proportion to the income he receives. No doubt, indirect taxation was the easiest to collect, and the least irksome of any; but what he desired and hoped to see was an arrangement whereby the heaviest burden would fall upon the shoulders of those best able to bear it. In seeking a renewal of their confidence he was not afraid to appeal to his past conduct, and would only say that if he was returned, he would be prepared, as in the past, to do what he thought best to promote the welfare of the whole colony, and especially of Wellington. On the other hand, if the electors preferred some one else before him, he would retire into private life. The result remained with them. Mr. Hunter said You are aware, I offer mvself as a candidate for the honor of representing the City of Wellington in the House of Representatives. I am not altogether a stranger to you. X have lived in Wellington thirty-six or thirty-seven years, and during that time I have always taken my fair share of the public work of the province and the colony. The first occasion on which you did me the honor of asking me to come forward as - a candidate as a member of the Provincial Council, you returned me at the head of the poll Again, when you invited me to come forward in the contest for a seat in the House of Representatives, you elected me. I need scarcely say that it is a matter of great satisfaction to me to feel that I have so continually received tokens of esteem and good-will from the citizens of Wellington. I am not conscious of having done anything in any shape or way to forfeit my claim to your confidence, or your good opinion. (Cheers.) As Mr. Pearce has done, I simply ask you to record your votes in my favor next Thursday, as I am still anxious and desirous to hold the position I have occupied for the past five years. (Cheers.) It is not worth while to go into other matters now, but I think it right to mention that I was one of those who signed the requisition to Mr. Gisborne. I did it in perfect good faith, and I gave him every vote I had. (Cheera) : Mr. Moody. Gentlemen: Short and sweet is the order of the day—(a laugh)—so I am going to be short too. Mr. Travers will make up for me. (A laugh.) When I first came forward I told you plainly that I did not intend to have any public meetings. I made certain arrangements with the New Zealand Times to let me have a column of the paper in which to lay my views before you, and you have seen what I have said. Last night I took another advertisement to the office, and told them to take out the one already in, but somehow it did not get in, and the old one is still there. They say it was an accident, I don't know whether it was work or whether they were “ tight ” last night, or whether I was. Here is what I wanted to be put in. The candidate then read over the address which appears • elsewhere, occasionally being interrupted hy jocular remarks from some of the crowd.

Mr. Travers said this was the second time he had appeared before a Wellington constituency as a candidate. Upon the hist occasion he was defeated, but he denied in the most positive and absolute terms that he was then opposed to the policy of progress, and no accusation of that land was made at the time. He had always been in favor of the progress of the colony, and should support to the utmost the scheme of public works which had been successfully inaugurated by Mr. Vogel, though he would oppose any attempt to carry it out in an extravagant or improvident manner. While theresources of the country were ample to carry out all the objects in view, there must be no waste of money in buying political support for the purpose of carrying out the scheme. He was going to say a few words upon a subject of considerable importance, and which had v SO1 * discussed. It was necessary that he should do so. If he could repeat the exact words used by Mr. Pearce, he might say that they exactly expressed his views, and what always had been his views. They were these: that the State should have nothing to do with religious education at all; that the State should

have nothing to do with denominational education ; and that the State is not to give any aid to denominational education. He hoped these words were sufficiently plain. They embodied the views he had held for years; but they were sentiments entirely new in the mouth of the gentleman who uttered them lately in the Odd Fellows* Hall. He did not want the electors to be led away by anything that might be stated of Hm by his friends, who might be prepared to extol him very highly, and tell them he was the fittest man to represent them. He recommended the electors to judge himself and the other candidates by their public actions and individual merits, not by the encomiums passed by friends nor by the hostile criticisms of enemies. The New Zealand Times called him a tinselled lawyer and a shifty politician, with the manners of a bargee. (Mr. Rowlands: I think it is quite right.) Well, he would not go for a character to one so wellknown for imbibing as Mr. Rowlands, and who was perfectly fit society for the person who wrote so of him in the columns of the Times. (Laughter.) He thought that he could look back at his acts during his residence in Wellington to show that he could take some credit to himself as a citizen. He had interested himself in, and identified himself with, a number of the institutions established here, and he thought he might claim some little credit for having assisted in bringing Wellington to the condition in which she now is. If he chose he could call attention to what he had done, in conjunction with others, to make Wellington attractive. He would therefore refer them to the character he had earned during his residence here, not to the character given him in the columns of the New Zealand Times. In judging of the respective merits of the candidates, the electors should he guided by their public worth and public actions alone. He did not want to hold himself superior to those gentlemen whom he was opposing, hut he claimed to be as honest as any of those gentlemen. As this contest had hitherto been carried out in a spirit of perfect fairness hy Messrs. Pearce and Hunter, he would not say one word in disparagement of them. In conclusion he would repeat the advice to the electors to judge the candidates fairly, not by accepting the lavish praises of friends nor by listening to the cavilling and utterly scandalous statements made by those interested in opposing any of the candidates. The Returning Officer then called for a show of hands, which was declared to be as follows

Pearce and Mr. Moody. A vote of thanks to the Returning Officer terminated the proceedings.

Travers ... ... 90 Hunter ... I.. ... 86 Pearce ... ... 77 Moody .., ... 2 A poll was then demanded on behalf of Mr.