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WAIPA ELECTION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. . —As you have thought fit to devote your editorial article of this day to exposing the terrible wickedness of the present Government in electoral matters, and have brought forward the late election in Waipa to illustrate your plea, I must crave space to give you a little more information than you seem to possess on that topic, or at least than it seemed suitable for you to make public. I may premise that I .have no wish to rake up electoral matters, which cannot bo of much interest to people in Wellington, but in justice to those referred to I think it right to make this statement. You state intev alia that a “native officer marched to the poll at the head of a native contingent of voters.” You might just as well have simplified matters by stating that you meant Major Wircmu te Wheoro. I shall at once state that no officer of the Native, or any other department, did anything of the sort. I believe Major to Wheoro went to the poll and recorded his vote as any officer in the Civil Service might do, but that he took any part in bringing up tho other Maoris to vote, I was assured, by those who were present, and upon whom I could rely, is absolutely incorrect; while at Raglan, where the native officer was also Returning Officer, every Maori vote was recorded against me. That native officer, who owed his position to tho late Sir Donald McLean, has, since the election, been made R.M. And now, sir, regarding this native vote (by the byo, the total number of Maori votes which were recorded for me amounted to 25 out of 254, the total I receive:!), —Two years and a half ago I contested the scat for Waipa with Mr. Cox, for tho express purpose of opposing some of Sir Donald McLean’s native schemes. On that occasion Major Te Wheoro and all his people who did vote, I was well assured at tU6 time, voted for me, though on tho late occasion they were divided with my opponent; while it was generally admitted, in fact boasted of, that- it was in Alexandra, where Native Office influence was most felt, that I was defeated. These are facts which cannot be denied. iAnd now, sir, as to that

circular. I am sure Mr. Kin® will be highly flattered that you have. thought his literary production worthy of such a prominent position in the New Zealand Times; hut I must admit that I think Mr. King colored it a little too highly when he stated that Sir George Grey’s Government were very anxious to secure my return. Tor what reason tliey should he anxious to secure the return of such an ordinary individual as myself I am at a loss to understand. However, as I suppose the special train is your point in the circular, allow me to inform you tho programme was faithfully carried out in this way—-Mr. .King, as secrefary of our committee, came up to Hamilton and met Mr. K. Hill, chairman of my opponent’s committee, and- they arranged to take a special train between them for the convenience of voters on both sides.

In pursuance of this arrangement between CO and 70 voters travelled up very pleasantly together by the special train to Mercer, of whom about 40, 1 think, recorded their votes for me and about 27 for my opponent, who was there throughout the polling. I may add he and I went through the contest side by side on excellent terms with each other, and probably will remain so if mischief-makers do not interfere, Strange coincidence your article appearing on the very day of his departure from Wellington; I could have wished you had published it during the month he has been residing here, but perhaps it took all that time to get up the case. When next you think it necessary in the interest of political morality “to point a moral or adorn a tale,” if I am concerned in it, I would request you, prior to publishing, to find out “ the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.—l am, &0., Edward G. McMinn. Wellington, 30th September.

[We had not thought it necessary to name Mr. McMinn at all, or to raise any question personal to him in regard to the Waipa election. Our article had reference to the double Maori vote, and to the possible use which an unscrupulous Government might make of it. We used the Bay of Islands’ scandal, and the Auckland electioneering circular, ns illustratrations of the kind of action that might be taken, but without imputing blame for either to Mr. McMinn. His opponent is reported to have admitted that it was a fair and honorable election contest in so far as Mr. McMinn was personally concerned, and we rely for that and the other facts upon published statements, the accuracy of which we have not heard challenged or disproved. Mr. McMinn is an incident of the case only ; he need not have put on the cap if it did not fit him. There is not the least reason why he should be angry and uncivil, unless he likes it.— Ed. N. Z. Times.]

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18781001.2.13

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5464, 1 October 1878, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
886

WAIPA ELECTION. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5464, 1 October 1878, Page 2

WAIPA ELECTION. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5464, 1 October 1878, Page 2

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