"GROANS FOR, THE OAMARU MAIL."

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1055, 6 September 1879, Page 2

"GROANS FOR, THE OAMARU MAIL."

" At Mr. Steward's meeting to-night there was a tremendous crowd. He spoke splendidly, and was frequently cheered and applauded. A vote of confidence in him was carried. Three cheers for Sir George Grey were called for by George Jones, but he was howled down with groans ! groans ! for the Oamaru IVXail. This expression of feeling is owing to the Mail deliberately informing the electors they could not plump for any candidate, which was considered an act unworthy of respectable journalism." So runs a teletrram that was forwarded to the Timaru Herald on Thursday night last. Of course there was no harm in stating that Mj*. Steward's meeting was crowded any more than there would have been in saying the same in reference to that of Messrs. Jiislop and Shrimski. Nor do we disagree with the correspondent because he has stated that Mr. Steward spoke splendidly. If he had done otherwise it would have been something unusual. But the writer states that a vote of confidence in Mr. Steward was carried, and that " George Jones " was howled down when he stood forth and called for " Three cheers for Sir George Grey." Circumstances and things should be cauged by comparisons. We read that when Gulliver was in Brobdignag he was a pigmy—when in Lilliput he was a giant. Not 3 that Gulliver fluctuated in size, but he was large or small in comparison with the people of those imaginary countries. To apply the figure : —The correspondent to the Herald states that a vote of confidence was carried in favor of Mr. Steward. So it was ; but it was a mean thing compared to that which was accorded to Messrs. Hislop and Shrimski in the same place a few evenings before. We are not advocating political principles now —one of the necessities for doing so passed away with yesterday —we are only now upholding the principles of truth. If a vote of confidence in Mr. Steward was carried at all, the cheers for Sir George Grey that were called for by " George Jones" were both numerous and lusty. Some of Mr. Steward's supporters may not have heard them as others did, any more than they saw the hands that were raised against the vote of confidence, because they neither wanted to hear nor see such things. The writer heard " George Jones howled down with groans ! groans ! for the Oamaru Mail." Nobody else heard it. George Jones seemed not'' to hear it himself, for he stood his ground until the last ringing cheer for Sir George Grey had died away. Then we come to the groans for the Mail. The mau that called for this exhibition of ill-feeling was the only man that groaned, as though he were groaning for himself. The tendency seemed to be to chee* rather than to groan. If the writer of the telegram has undertaken the task of attempting to fashion public opinion according to his own notions —he is a young man, but his funeral obsequies will occur first. He knows the Mail cannot descend to his views, and since Thursday night—that the public would rather applaud us than howl us down. Their verdict was given in our favor yesterday, because we have been expressing the sentiments of the majority, and expressing them, too, in a way that should save us from the contumely of any right thinking man. We now come to the last concoction of the writer of the telegram. When did the Mail deliberately inform the electors they could not plump for any candidate? We challenge the writer, who is a prominent and respected citizen of Oamaru, to prove this assertion, and to demonstrate that we have perpetrated acts unworthy of respectable journalism, because we have differed from him in political matters. We think that the writer forgot himself on Thursday

night, andthathe has but few sympathise) s in. his assertions—we cannot call them his opinions—even amongst those of Mr. Steward's supporters, for whom we have as great respect as though they had been on our side.