THE BITER BITTEN.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 4047, 17 December 1881, Page 3

THE BITER BITTEN.

A well known gentleman in town communicates the following:— " A rather smart thing was done on Friday morning, which quite nonplussed one of the opposition electioneering parties. Another scurrilous article appeared in the Free Lance, attacking in a gross and unwarrantable manner not only Mr Stewart himself, but also the gentleman who acted as Secretary to Mr Stewart's Committee. The attack was as unfair and as in bad taste as the former article that appeared in the Free Lance and created as much indignant feeling amongst .all parties here. A telegram was received late on Thursday that three hundred copies of the Free Lance were being forwarded to Captain Morris's Committee for distribution. Immediately ott arrival of the steamer the gallant captain and the prominent member b of his Committee were there to get out the papers. While they were engaged enjoying some refreshments, a geutleojan aakfed the worthy captain if

he coald hare a quantity. ' Oh, yes,' was the cheerful rejoinder, 'take as many as you like and put them round.' No sooner said than down in the saloon the gentleman dived, and walked off with a Full hundred, all of which but one he unfortunately allowed to fall into the hands of an aotiye partisan of Mr Stewart, and as may be imagined the odd ninety nine troubled Tauranga no more that day. They arestillon hand and can be had at half price. Another adherent of Mr Stewart's, not to be outdone, rushed up and asked should he get the papers up. 'By all means, like a good fellow.' He got down in time to see the other parcel disappear, and quickly securing the balance of the issue and speedily placed them in a secure spot and they lay quietly and conteDtedly there and accompanied the steamer back to Auckland. And the Committee and their chief enjoyed (heir refreshments and strolled up to see the dismay on the faces of Mr Stewart's supporters when they j read the terrible article. And no oue ap ! pea red to be reading it somehow, and the other looked afar off in the faint hope of seeing some one with a bundle of papers under his arm distributing them. They wandered round and hunted high and low, and still the papers came not, nor coald any one account for their mysterious disappearance. And in a back office the enemy were quietly conning the paper over and laughing heartily. Some of the Committee, when they heard how come- I pletely the scheme had succeeded, nearly went into fits of laughing, and after the excitement bad quieted down a little they all distributed in different directions to watch the discomfitted Committee who had had the tables turned on them so completely. All the amusement was ■enjoyed by those who were to have been the victims of a malevolent and most unjustifiable attack."—B.F. Times.