THE WAITEMATA ELECTION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5762, 17 September 1879, Page 2

THE WAITEMATA ELECTION.

Auckland, Tuesday. The poll was declared for Waitemata to-day: Wood, -133; Macfarlaue, IS3. Mr. Wood, iu thanking the electors, said the elections throughout the colony were now over. Although we knew the persons returned, it was extremely difficult to divine what the state of parties would be when they met together in Wellington. Two things, however, were clear —one was, that the majority which the Opposition possessed last session had been wiped out; the other was that the personnel of the House itself had been largely altered. His view of the position was this—that iu consequence of the latter alteration, there would be much less of that rabid personal antagonism to Sir George Grey which was displayed during the last Parliament, and the result was that the Government would have a majority iu the House, perhaps ouly a small one ; hut at any rate the new Parliament would be inclined to treat Sir George Grey and his Government fairly, and would not meet him in the first instance with a hot no-cnnfideuce motion before he had arranged his plans, and seeing his measures, and giving him an honest trial. Mr. Macfarlane said he was confident that before long the Government would, by their actions, bring the country into disgrace. They had acted throughout most improperly. There should be no Government interference whatever in election matters, and there would not be if their professions of former years were carried out. He remembered about five years ago the present Premier charging the late Sir Donald McLean in ths House with having, through au emissary, attempted to sway one election on the Hast Coast, anil though on that occasion Sir Donald McLean solemnly assured the House that he had done no such thing ; that he knew his position, and had expressed a hope that no Minister woidd dare do such a thing. Now, telegrams had recently been sent to the electors in various parts of the country to support this candidate and the other, and the Premier had been going from place to place addressing constituencies which he was in no way connected with. In reference to the speech of the Premier, delivered in Auckland, he might state that it contained gross fabrications, gross untruths, and if he did not prove them let people discard him for ever from Auckland. Sir George Grey had made some very vile statements, and therefore he (the speaker) could not blame the electors for what they had done. There was a good time before the next election for showing the falsity of these statements, and his ouly regret was that they had Ministers capable of misleading the country. He repeated that the country had been disgraced by the actions of the Ministry.