TO MR McCULLOUGH.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 4028, 25 November 1881, Page 2

TO MR McCULLOUGH.

(Per favour of the Evening Star.)

: Sib,—Considering you by far the most eligible candidate for the representation,, of Thamos, my vote is at ypur service

exclusively if. you will tack on to jour platform the Bible in schools. Id my opinion the principles set forth in/your address are - admirable; straightforward - and manly, no ambiguou«ness, no.-waiting until' you heard . what other candidates ; had to say, but outspoken and'straight to ' the point, and ought to'commend itself „- to the thoughtful minded working classes., Sir, supporting you .loyally and truly in your candidature'for the Mayoralty, there has been no occasion to,'regret the choice, and considering you filled that office with credit to yourself and profit to this community, the chances arVthat" yoor'wiH^ again be true to your pledges.. Miners and working men generally should not forget your advocacy of. ,the Karaka ; Tunnel scheme when plaeiog your name doVrn for 500 'shares; and oertaipjj^ wa.fi, -owing to no fault of yours that the grandest' scheme for this district came to grief. About*this tunnel business: it stood out clear enough; there was one man at least who had brains enough to understand, and goodwill enough to be prepared to put his hand in his pocket to assist the work. With regard to this contest between your- , self and Mr Sheehan, I hold that every feeling of honor, every principle of fair play, is violated. It is not' in accordance with the fitness of things that an outsider should stand for a constituency in which he has no interest, as against a man who has borne the heat'and burden of the day; who' attends all sorts of meetingsiorlthe'. public benefit, hospitals, public gatherings, &c, i&c, and as a public journalist whose' columns are open to the"very' poorest amongst us. Sir, turning from you and facing- the' electors of this district, I say it is a shame to us—-it is worse,, it is a piece of presumption—to pit Mr Sheehan against Mr McCullougb. Of course, if Mr Speight were the only candidate,- it , would be a charity to come forward ; but the Thames is not reduced to.^hat extremity. Undoubtedly Mr Sheehan is a clever man, and I admire him very much-; but my admiration has never taken the , form of giving him a vote, and never will; And in this contest, if religious sieruplei did not deter, certainly the love.of fair play would prevent me from giving any assistance to an outsider.-—I am &c, , , Q. .Reddish^ November 24th. [We remarked to our correspondent that it was probable his communication would be looked upon solely as ah advertisement for Mr McCullough, and} there* , fore, it had better not appear. His" reply was, that as an elector he was surely at liberty to express his opinions, and as.fqr - what others thought, why—JSbni toit: gui malypense.—Ev. Stab] .'' „

(To the Editor of the EVESisa, Stab.)

Sib, —It is usual for parsons when anything out of the common run of .events occurs to " improve the occasion." - Doesn't Wednesday night's flood preach a sermon to every eleotor. "The voice of Nature is the voice of God." When 1 even the very elements fight against a candidate, I look npon it as a special interposition of providence to prevent us committing political suicide, which we should do by electing Mr Speight! Oar empty and dilapidated dwellings' would remain as they are now, and their number increase, for Mr Speight is such a stave to his party that they would be sure of his vote even while slighting'his constituency. Mr Speight is an estimable citizen, but let him be content with the lot assigned him by ISature, and not attempt to force himself into a position for which the calibre of his mind and the prestige of his name in no wise qualify him. Real merit is never obtrusive:' If however the; electors do send htm to the House, let them henceforth and for ever hold their peace, even while smarting under a sense of Government neglect and injustice.—-I am, &0., * Maobiland.

(To the Editor of the Evening Star;)

Sib,—l think if the Volunteers will continue to wait patiently for a little longer their just claims will be acceded to. For the present it is unwis.e to give vent to indignant feelings, as I am inclined to think the delay is caused merely by the bungling and. incapacity of urorerntnent officials; for instance, the night before we embarked at Opunake Captain Faircbild was officially informed before he left Wellington that Major JNoake would be wired to, and the Thames men receive timely orders for embarkation aw \l

■o'clock the following day. The officer in X command at Opunake was not wired to at ■the time he oup[ht to have been, and the 'consequence was the Hinemoa was an hour whistling in the bay before we got orders to embark ; hence a delay to the steamer of twenty-four hours, and a loss of three extra tons of coal, steaming up at rapid rate from Wellington. Had not the obliging and' thoughtfnl Captain of tbe Hinemoa sent telegram from Opunake to Auckland there would havo been no train at Onehunga to convey us from thence, although this duty ought to have been j performed by those in charge of another j department. xlt is well known also the ; blundering which arose in connection with J the store department, and now the delay \ in paying the men according to agreement j ia simply another bungling mistake on the part of some official who has other than the honest carrying out of his duties to attend to. Anxiously awaiting the true and just conclusion to be arrived at.—l am, &c, Non-Corn.