The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.) WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8, 1875.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 331, 8 December 1875, Page 2

The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.)

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8, 1875.

" We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shell deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right. ’

An important crisis, in regard to our political affairs, being at hand, it would ill become us either to maintain silence, or to give forth “ an uncertain sound ”on the subject. There are now four candidates in the field for the representation of the East Con st, and to all appearance the contest for the seat will be a keener one than any that lias cverpreceded it, since theintroduction of responsible Government. At all past elections the Bay of Plenty—being the most populous part of the electorate —has had matters quite its own way ; but we hope it shall not be «o with it at the forthcoming election. This representative monopoly having been broken up at last, To verty Bay must now assert its political importance in downright earnestness, or suffer itself to play second fiddle to Tauranga. If the" favorable opportunity that is about to present itself to us, of choosing a member who will faithfully represent our interests in the Parliament of the country, is not properly availed of, the future may, in this respect, prove as disastrous to us as the past has. If tbe electors of this district intend to carry their point there must not be any “ halting between two opinions ”on their part; nor must their actions be characterised by any disunion or want of < harmony. Unity of purpose and action —as we have always inculcated —is essential to success ; and any deviation from this course will assuredly bring upon ourselves that very calamity which we profess to be desirous of averting. After obtaining an exposition of their principles from the respective candidates, and judging for ourselves as to which of them would be likely to represent us most advantageously,- we ought to accord our support to that candidate only ; for if we perpetrate the indiscretion of dividing our votes we cannot possibly accomplish our object. Necessity is laid upon us to adhere to one man, and if we fail to discharge this imperative obligation wo betide us. Past experience has surely taught us that we cannot afford to dispense with unanimity in this affair; and if it has, let us shew by our deeds that we are unanimous. Having four candidates (one of them a local man) at our disposal, there appears to be no difficulty in making an eligible selection; and as the writs are to be issued in a few days lienee, it is high time that we have made up our minds as to who tbe man of our choice is to be. It is idle to talk—as some do—of there being abundance of time yet left us to cast about for a member, when such is not really the case. We have already allowed so much precious time to elapse that it is now the eleventh hour with us; and if we exhibit further dilatoriness, in coming to a decision, we will probably be thwarted in our purpose. The apathy which has hitherto prevailed here in respect to taking prompt action in representative affairs, may, to some extent, be attributed to a general belief that Mr. M'Donaizd would stand for the East Coas-t. A requisition requesting that gentleman to become a candidate was, it is true, numerously signed some months ago, but what has become of the document we know not. It has not been made public; and, as far as we are aware, it was never presented to or accepted l»y Mr. M'Donald ; consequently he cannot be regarded as a bond fide candidate until he makes a public announcement to that effect, as the other gentlemen who are seeking our suffrages have done, even if he should be really disposed to come forward. We are positively sure that had Mr. M'Donald announced himself as a candidate at the time he was importuned by his friends to do so, he would be well supported, and no other local man would have attempted to put up against him; but persistent reticence on his own part has culminated in another local gentleman being brought into the field with a fair prospect of being returned. Here, then, is an exemplification of the danger which invariably attends procrastination.