THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Otaki Mail, Volume 27, 10 December 1919, Page 2

THE OTAKI MAIL. Published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1919. EDITORIAL NOTES.

The Otaki Seat. Four candidates will go to the poll on "Wednesday next, 17th inst, for the Otaki seat, viz., Messrs W. H. Field. Evelyn Macdonald, James McKcnzie, and A. J. Ramsbottom-Ishcrwood. Although there arc more candidates to choose from than has been the case locally for a great many years—we doubt if there has ever been so many candidates for Otaki in the past—and notwithstanding the fact that the election is a memorable one, coming at a most" critical juncture in the bistory of this Dominion and of the Empire, the loeal contest does not promise to be a very exciting affair. Until the pasf fortnight the campaign dragged ii* weary way in a listless sort of fashion. Of late, we are glad to say, a little more life has been imported into the contest, but the great bulk of the electors are as yet apathetic, as instanced by the paucity of attendance at tho candidates' meetings. There lias cot been as yet one good, well-attended, rousing political meeting ia the whole campaign, though we have four candidates, and are within a week of the polling-day! Each of the candidates has addressed meetings at Oiaki, and the largest attendance at any of these ' ! gatherings would not exeeed 150 persons. From what we can gather, the same apathy prevails in all the otter centre's of thet district. Let as hope, that, even at this late hour, some "ginger" will be imparted into' the fight, and that electors will show a more lively interest in what promises t« be a memorable election. The general opinion appears to be that the result of the election is a foregone conclusion, hence the lack of interest. We would Temind readers that it never does to take election results for granted. One never knows how the vote is going, and it behoves supporters of the various candidates not to be over-confident, and to do their utmost. It is also the duty of electors to hear the candidates, to consider their utterances, and carefully weigh the pros and cons, in order that they may give an intelligent vote on the 17th, The Eeforja Candidate. 4 ~~ Mr W. H. Field, the Reform candidate, is very well known to electors, having represented the district for a great- many years. Everyone knows {Mr Field as a genial gentleman, who has been untiring in his exertions on . behalf of the district. Though pledged to Mr Massey's party, Mr Field is rather a moderate, he having stated publicly that, in the event of Mr Massey's party being defeated at the ek-c-. tions, he will support Sir Joseph Ward against the extremists, against whom he is strongly opposed- Birring his many years of public service, Mr Field has done a great deal for the district, and he *"»? made practically no enemies, which is saying a great deal for a public man with Ma length of service. Mr Field -will bs sure to poll heavily, and the general opinion is that he Trill prove a xaizly easy winner on polling- | daj, .

Labour's . J. Champion. Mr J. McKenzie, who stands as the official Labour candidate, is a returned : soldier, who has "done his bit" forthe country. Prior to the election cam- j paign, ho whs a complete stranger to j the: district. Mr McKenzie has made good use of the weeks during which he has been electioneering.- Judging by , his public addresses, he has studied ■ political economy to some purpose, and it is noteworthy that ho has shown , very considerable improvement as a l ■platform speaker during the past few | weeks. Being pledged to the Labour | ! platform. Mr McKenzie will probably i j have a solid backing from the Labour devotees throughout the electorate, and this is a fairly big vote in itself, though not so formidable as was the case before the new boundaries of the electorate were fixed, which cut off Shannon, Foxton, Tokomaru and other places where the Labour vote was a big factor. There is no denying the fact that Mr McKenzieJs chances of election arc much rosier than they were a few weeks ago. Undoubtedly ho will 1 poll well.

Independent *"" f; Labour-Liberal, s c Being entirely a "free-lance," having no puny backing, and, moreover, b being a- comparatively unknown man v except in To Horo, Mr Evelyn Mac- £ donald entered this ' contest with: a ( severe handicap. One cannot but admire his plucky, singlehanded fight in the campaign. ' Apparently without assistance, minus the.aid of any com- \ niittees and electioneering "props," ] Mr Macdonald has fought a. "lone -' hand" fight with commendable energy. Moreover, though making a certain : number of mistakes, that may safely be overlooked-as due to inexperience, Mr Macdonald-has displayed considerable ability and originality in his plat'form "addresses, and is certainly the! best public speaker of the four candi- I dates, ilr Macdonald is a respeeted | 'IV Horo" farmer—a self-made man, who | 'rbughed ii in the early days in the 1 bush—and as a practical farmer and a-1 district resident of undoubted integrity I will undoubtedly sec-uro considerable! support. He is fast gaining favour as J the campaign proceeds, but his indc-I pendencc will handicap him very con- J The Liberal Candidate, Mr A. J. H.-Ishcrwood« has only rcsided in the electorate for a few months, and having, unfortunately, | been unable to address many meetings, partly on account of illhealth, will face the poll with a severe handicap. This gentleman is the only straight-out Liberal candidate for the seat, and, if elected, will support, tSir Joseph Ward. Being an untried man, and a stranger, Mr Isherwood cannot hope to poll as heavily as if he had not these disn- . bilities to contend with, but he is deter- • mined to see the contest through to the end, and doubtless many ardent Liberals will accord him their .support. Mr Isherwood is a New Zealander, an old .sport who is well-known in the MamI warn and Wairarapa. Ho is also a rc- ) turned soldier.