THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1893. THE PAREORA ELECTION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2582, 16 November 1893, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1893. THE PAREORA ELECTION.

We do not think we need-say much cou(aiming Mr Rhodes’s speech. The meeting last Monday night made his position cleav as noon-day. The attention with which the large meeting heard him denotes that personally he is respected and esteemed, but the coldness with which he was received; the cordiality with which opposite views were approved and the amendment carried at the close of the proceedings, made it quite clear that Mr Rhodes’s political views harmonise no longer with the majority of his constituents. Mr Rhodes is personally popular, but his political opinions are diametrically opposed to the aspirations of the masses, and the only question is, Will the personal liking for him counterbalance the desire to see the Government retained in office I That is the whole question of the election now. Is the liking for the Government stronger than the liking for Mr Rhodes 1 We believe it is, and that consequently all sensible people will voi e for the Government candidate. What good can it do to the great majority of the people that Mr Rhodes io pleasantmannered, affable, and agreeable? Not the slightest. It is, of course, pleasant to talk to a gentleman of his position, but is there any substantial benefit to be derived therefrom ? Most certainly there is not. On the other hand, What are we to expect if the present Ministry remain in power ? We expect cheap money to help the farming community; land on which the people will be settled; farm settlements for the weak, the aged, and the infirm ; assistance to people with small capital to take up laud ; and thoroughly sound finance without further borrowing. Mr

ißhodes says it is impossible to go on without further borrowing; the present Government say that it is, and promise to do without it. Three years ago Mr Rhodes advocated further borrowing; the present Government has not borrowed anything since, with the exception of the sinking fund, and the question is whether that is borrowing or not. •At any rate, previous Governments borrowed the sinking fund and also millions of other moneys besides, and no one until now, called the sinking fund borrowed capital. There is no interest to pay on it, and the Colonial Treasurer says that we pay £76.500 less in interest now than we did three years ago. That is a strong argument to support the assertion that there is no borrowing going on. But, asjwe have said, the great point is, therefore, Shall wo vote for keeping in power a Government which has been pronounced by Australian and English papers as the best in the world, and from which we hope to receive great and lasting benefits ? or shall we vote for Mr Rhodes, from whom we can get nothing except pleasant smiles and agreeable manners two or three times a year ? .Esop’s fable about the dog illustrates this point. The dog had a leg of mutton in its mouth, and was crossing a plank which spanned a stream, when noticing his own shadow ho mistook it for another dog and commenced to bark, with the result that the leg of mutton dropped into the water. The dog therefore hunted the shadow and lost the substance—the leg of mutton. Mr Rhodes’s personal agreeabhmess is a mere shadow, and consequently we ought not to trouble ourselves about it. We know that in the past policy of the present Government there is good, real, tangible substance. We know they have done their best for the masses, and that they are only in the beginning of their career of usefulness, and we know that to turn them out of office now would be as foolish as the action of the dog in losing his leg mutton. Mr Rhodes never in his life spoke near so well as he did last Monday evening, but the speech he delivered was the weakeast, the feeblest, and the worst he has ever given us. There was nothing in it; in fact, he appeared to act on Tallyrand’s assertion that language was given to man to conceal his thoughts. We shall philips have something more to say on his views on finance in a future issue, but at present pressure on our space prevents us dealing with it at any greater length.