PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY. Wednesday, September 28, 1881.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 982, 28 September 1881, Page 2

PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY. Wednesday, September 28, 1881.

Mr. Locke has made the initial mistake, which may cost him the loss of a seat in the House of Representatives, of allowing votes of confidence to be passed in him, when he avowedly stated that he was only addressing the electors at Wairoa, and adjacent places, preliminarily—as a kind of feeler in fact. But bad tact as Mr. Locke’s was, that of his professed supporters was worse. It would have been no reflection on Mr. Locke to have carried the more sensible amendment by Mr. Witty, at the Clyde meeting, which said, in effect, “al- “ though we have every confidence in “ Mr. Locke, and shall, probably, “ vote for him, still, it is only fair to “ wait and hear what the other candi- “ dates have to say, before we decide.’’ And the same absurdity has been enacted, we observe, both at Fraser - town and Mohaka. Now, in these remarks we desire to be thoroughly impartial ; and it is because we have little faith in pre-election promises—at any rate, those so very far antedated—that we draw attention to the absurdity, as well as the injustice of electors pretending to pledge themselves to the fulfilment of promises they may afterwards regret. Therefore, we say, if Mr. Locke had acted with his usual caution, he would have counselled his friends to forbear anything' approaching an open avowal of support, which, in the nature of things cannot be kept. But we must not forget that Mr. Locke is—as are Mr. McDonald and Captain Porter—in the hands of his friends and advisers :

and if they force the running, well the old horse may last the distance, if he does not keep up the pace.

WE-Could have wished we had received a better report than, the one sent to us of Mr. Locke’s Wairoa address ; but we propose making a few remarks on that which is before us, leaving any omissions until he shall have addressed the electors at Gisborne. And herein we beg leave to state that Mr. Locke has made mistake No. 2. That gentleman has been recently in Poverty Bay, and he left it for the purpose of going to an outlying portion of the Electorate, and making his bow there instead of in Gisborne. There is no offence in this. We do not look upon it in that light. No slight is intended. Of that we are satisfied ; but let us look at the man in possession of the field. What does he do ? What did he do two years ago, when it was our supreme pleasure to give him all the support at our command ? He went “ like a Stalwart ” into the enemy’s camp; took them by surprise, and carried everything before him. That which was successful to him then, he depends upon as being successful to him now. Mr. McDonald is again to the fore, and while others are beating about the bush, he strikes home—at the heart,of the Electorate; and to-morrow night he will test the minute throb of its pulsation. Of course, it may be said, that the sitting member has to give an account of his stewardship, and, therefore, the most fitting place for him to begin at, is the largest centre of population. Bui if that be true in the case of a man who has been popular, it is also correct ill the cases of those who wish to become popular ; and not only so, but, before the popularity of the latter can be established, they have ta oust the man already in possession. And we cannot accept the explanation of either of the two other announced candidates that they wish to defer to Mr: McDonald’s priority of right to address the electors before they do so. Had they refrained from any political action at all, until Mr. McDonald had had his say, we should have thought it was one of those graceful concessions made from one gentleman to another, in public life, more honored in the breach than in the observance. But both,Mr. Locke and Captain Porter —and neither, we believe, with any ulterior motive—have thought it right to go, initiativelyj to a remote corner of the Electorate —and but just added to it —and commence the contest. - As in geometry, so in politics, the radiations of the circumference of the circle are reached from the centre, and not the centre from the circumference. Quod erat demonstrandum.

But let us see on what grounds Mr. Locke bases his claims to the votes of the electors. If we may take the jerky, spasmodic utterances wired from Wairoa, as criteria, ( it wpuld appear that Mr. Locke appeals rather to the affectionate sympathy of the electors, in rememberance of his past services, while in the Government service, than to any inherent ability he may possess to promote their interests in the time to come. No one will go further than we in paying honest, and well-merited tribute to the noble, self-sacrificing services rendered by Mr. Locke to the East Coast District, during the early Native troubles that encompassed the death or ruin of many of its settlers ; but we must join issue with him in bringing those services—of so opposite a character to that for which he new seeks suffrage—forward, as a reason why the electors should support him in a political contest. We are perfectly aware that the electors will not forget what Mr. Locke has done forthem, but he must not overlook the fact that since he risked his life in the public cause, public sentiment has changed ; new blood runs in the veins of the constituency, and it is in view of that fact that he should have addressed himself to the electors. Taking, however, Mr. Locke’s address to the W airoa electors, as a whole, we cannot give him credit for much originality of thought. It seems that aspirants to Parliamentary honors have but one idea, and that is to follow in the paths of their predecessors. Take several instances. Mr. Locke said, euphemistically, that he would like to see absentees taxed. But he did not indicate how they were to be taxed. “ Practically, as the law now “stands,” (says Mr. Locke) “if the land is under lease, the Natives can- “ not subdivide it, nor sell it, unless “ the lessee is willing to cancel the lease; that, however, is nothing new.

Mr. Locke also said that Provincialism “ was played outbut he did not enlighten his hearers as how. “Under it,” he said “ Wairoa was neglected.” Possibly, Mr. Locke will say exactly the same when he addresses the electors | n Gisborne; but he would immensely improve his position if he would draw analogy between that effete system, and the existing County and Road Board system. Mr. Locke, however, struck a sympathetic chord whten he- asserted his preparedness to support the rating of Native and Crown lands. In this matter there is but one opinion ; and we trust on the foregoing topics, to hear more from Mr. Locke than is contained in his preliminary address at Clyde.