TOWN ELECTION.

Southland Times, Issue 1145, 21 April 1869, Page 2

TOWN ELECTION.

. — > . The nomination ol candidates for the seat in the Provincial Council vacated by Mr Armstrong, took place at the hustings in rear of the Court House yesterday, 20th inst., at noon. The names of six or seven gentlemen were rumored about town during the morning as * ikely to be brought forward, and considerable interest manifested in their chances of success. As the hour approached the hustings became surrounded by a tolerable crowd of citizens, who anxiously awaited the appearance of the Eeturning Officer, who, instead of opening procadings according to the time generally observed throughout the town, adhered to " noon " as indicated rather by the sun than the public clocks. At last, however, Mr Hare appeared on the hustings, and, having read the writ for the election, called - upon those present to propose -their candidates. After a short pause, Mr: G. S. Crouch ascended the platform and proposed Mr Andrew .Kinross as a fit' and proper person to represent the town in the Provincial Council., He said he had much pleasure in. nominating Mr Kinross, as that gentleman wr s well known to the electors as one who had, both by his voice and his pan, been ever ready to advocate thebest interests of the Province. He had at> different times urged retrenchment vigorously upon the Council, and proposed schemes which, if adopted, would have materially reduced departmental expenditure. He was also well known . as a consistent advocate for roads in preference to railways, on the ground that the latter were as yet premature. Mj J. H. Smith, in seconding the nomination, said he believed Mr Kinross to be eminently suited for the position to which he aspired. He had shown himself possessed of ability and consistency, and he (Mr S.) believed if he were returned, he would *do his utmost for the

good of the Prov luce, in reducing as fer as possible the expense v of government^ and thereby procuring the outlay of More money on necessary public works. He thoughfcthe objection urged Against Mr Kinross, that he resided in the country, no very serious one. The distance being short, and : the road good, a pleasant canters only intervened Jrafate.en where he lived and the Council Hall. Mr T. M. Clerke then stepped forward and said the candidate he had to propose was a resident, one who had long held a leading position in Invercargill, was thoroughly acquainted with the require tr ents of the Province, and well qualified for a representative of the; people. He had therefore much pleasure in nominating Mr J. "VV. Mitchell, who, he felt sure, would do his duty in the Council. He would not say more, as he had every confidence Mr Mitchell would be returned. • j Mr Jabez Hay seconded the proposi- < tion. Mr A. J. Smyth then came forward i and said he had a citizen to propose, a good citizen — a merchant, though a small one — Mr John Wright. Many of those present might think Mr Wright's coming forward only a bit of fun, but he could assure them there was no fun in it. He considered Mr Wright quite competent to represent the town in the Council, for he was an educated man, and whatever his position or standing might be here, he had known him in Victoria when he held a very good situation. As the candidate himself would appear he did not feel called on to say more, and would or^y reiterate that there was no fun, no fooling in the matter. Mr Wilkinson seconded the nomination. After waiting for a few minutes, the Returning Officer intimated that as there appeared to be no more candidates to be brought forward, those already proposed might address the electors in their order of nomination. Mr Kinross accordingly stepped out and made his acknowledgements. He saia he had come lorward at the request of a considerable number of the electors. He considered it an honor to be returned as a representative of the people, but the honor alone would not have induced him to stand. He had yielded because he considered it his duty, and he had always striven to do that. It was true he lived in the country, and owned property there, but he might state that he also had considerable property in town ; further, he was not disposed to look at matters too locally in politics, but considered the interests of both town and country as identical, and would act with a view to the advantage of the whole Province rather than for the special benefit of any particular portion of it. He did not care so much now about obtaining a seat in the Council, as there was no money in the Treasury, consequently none could be misspent, still he was willing to go in and do the best he could. He had always been adverse to the railway expenditure, but now that the work had been finally decided upon and started, there was no r ) objecting to it, all that could be done now was to see that value was got for the money. Judging from the past, this would need to be very strictly looked after, as he believed that in former times many private parties had been enrichedjat the public expense. Referring to departmental arrangements, he said he had to work for his living himself very hard, and could not see why Government officials should not in times of necessity do the same. He would conclude by assuring them that if returned he would do his best for their interests. Mr Mitchell, on stepping forward to the rail, was received w ith considerable cheering. He said he would not detain them long. He was much surprised to find himself in that position. He was not aware of having given Mr Clerke authority to propose him, nor had he had any intention of coming forward, but, having been proposed, he was willing to place himself in the hands of the electors. He had spent some time looking for better men than himself, and believed he bad found them, but it appeared they declined to stand, and hence, he supposed, the reason why he had been nominated. He did not feel it necessary to make any lengthy statement of his political views, as they were pretty generally known already ; neither would he make any rash promises, lest he might break them, but if the electors chose to put him into the Council he would do the best he could ; on the other hand, if they did npt elect him, he would not be sorry. Mr Wright was received with shouts of merriment. He said he possibly owed being in the position he then occupied, to the tomfoolery of an advertisement, but he would assure them there was no fun about it now, he meant to run in earnest. It was no use talking about the money already spent, it was gone, and could not be reclaimed, the thing was to look after what was left. Of course he could not promise, if returned to the Council, to do anything, his voice would only be one against many, but he could protest against everything he thought wrong. His chief object would be to put an extinguisher on the Council altogether, (great cheering.) The fact was the province had been playing the part of the prodigal son for a long time, through debt and difficulties getting everjr now and then into the lockup, from which the indulgent father-*— the Genera! Government — had always to take him out. Regarding the expending of what little funds might be at the disposal of the Council, he would always try and get more for roads and less for the departments. It might be said that his social position was not good, or what it should be, biit he could only say, in that too he had done as well as he could. A show of hands having been called for was declared to be in favor of Mr Wright, whereupon. a poll was demanded on behalf of Mr Kinross. A vote of; thanks. to the Returning Officer term!-' nated the proceedings. 1