ELECTIONEERING.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 151, 29 December 1870, Page 4

ELECTIONEERING.

ME. DEAN AT THE TEVIOT.

(From a Correspondent.) Teviot, Dec, 20, 1870.

The great logomachy has been commenced in this district by a neophyte, whose presumption has perhaps been too compassionately dealt with. In other words, Mr. Dean, of Switzers, a gentleman absolutely unknown outside his own immediate neighbourhood, has ventured to oppose one of the ablest and most thoroughly tried public men in the colony. I mu.t say, the appearance of placards, announcing Mr. Dean's first appearance, on Saturday evening, created a slight sensation. Who the dickens was Mr. Dean? and what the doose did he want at the Teviot ? were questions heard on every side. Through the \itter absence of anything like a supporter in the district, these notices were confined to the Teviot, hence great ivas the speculation along the road when three slightly eccentric- looking horsemen passed by. The general impression was that they were comic singers, one gentleman going so far as to aver that Mr. Dean — the aspirant to the senate — had once held an engagement under that professor of scurrility, the inimitable Thatcher. But enough of preliminaries, let me endeavour briefly to sketch to you— the meeting. Mr. Dean, a youngish man with a querulous voice and a most disagreeable habit of continually repeating the word " see," opened, the proceedings by declaring his earnest hope that they would elect a chairman — one who was not pledged to Mr. Bradshaw would be preferable, After considerable delay and a hum of, "You take it," "No ; you take it," Mr. Mervyu was induced, by a very gentlemanly spirit of courtesy, to ' fill the gap. Mr. Mervyn having been seated, Mr. Dean, with all the solemnity of a pedagogue asking a youngster his " carritches," enquired whether Mr. Merv\n wns a supporter of Mr. Bradshaw, or unpledged. Mr. Mcrvyn said he considered the question utterly uncalled for. He thought the fact of his being a nonelector a quite sufficient answer. Mr. Dean persisted in his question, as he had often known coses where an unfair chairman had greatly injured a speaker, He desired the meeting thoroughly to understand beforehand whether they had a prejudiced or impartial chairman. Mr. Mervyn considered Mr. Dean's insinuations as ungenerous and unjust. He had. simply come forward from a desire to pre\cnt Mr. Dean being treated with discourtesy. He had no desire to push himself forward, and believed that well known courtesy and attention which always characterised public meetings at the Teviot, would render Ins post a sinecure. After the insinuations thrown out by Mr. Dean, he would at once leave the chair.

Mr. Mcrvyn left the chair, and after some delay Mr. Beighton was prevailed upon to come forward Mr. Beighton was hardly seated, before Mr. Dean subjected him to the question.

Mr. Beighton did not see what Mr. Dean had to do with his being pledged to Mr. Bradshaw or not. He had come forward at considerable personal inconvenier cc to oblige Mr. Dean, and ho thought himself competent to act with impartiality, whatever his private opinions might be. In order to satisfy Mr. Dean, however, he would remind that gentleman that his (Mr. Beighton's) name appeared at the head of a requisition to Mr. Bradshaw, whom he should feel morally bound to support. After some incoherent remarks from the candidate, the chairman formally introduced him to the audience.

Mr. Dean began by a series of rambling and utterly irrelevant remarks on home politics, his childhood, the state of parties in Leeds, and his objection to that detestable pronoun "I." After about a quarter of an hour of this sortof thing, he commenced to dilate upon tho financial policy of Mr. Yogel. He didn't know how they might like it. It might cost him a few votes, but he had made up his mind, see, to condemu this policy. The present debt, provincial and general, was seven odd millions, on which the annual charge — that is as he was kind enough to explain repeatedly — the interest was nearly half a million, see. The annual, i.e., the interest on the £700,000, proposed to be borrowed, wou'd amount at least to £450,000, see ; or altogether nearly a million a year of annual charge, i.e., interest to be provided before any revenue would be available for other purposes, see ! He enlarged on the heavy burden that would thus be brought upon the working classes contracting the debt per head in this colony, with that of Britain after two centuries of exhaustive war. He next entere4 I+pon the land question, advocating free selection as far as possible, limited

areas, deferred payments, and -grazing rights, see. He denounced, with great animosity, the class he styled kawpitalists, the runholders coining in for particular fits. An anecdote he managed to drag in in reference to the land question amused, if it did not edify, the audience. Once upon a time the speaker was a student at Bolton Abbey, and had to lodge in a cottage on the property of the Duke of Devonshire. For the most limited accommodation see — two rooms no bigger than a small area he paced out on the platform see, he had to pay the enormous, the utterly ruinous sum of thirteen and sixpence per week ! This awful extortion was caused by the Duke being a " Kawpitalist," and conclusively proved the evils of large estates. On the educational question he declared himself in favour of compulsory attendance and secular education. Separation elicited a silly anecdote about a meeting in Dunedin, and the statement, that while opposed to the division of the two islands as a theorist ; as a practical man, he would support it, or in other words, would act in direct opposition to his convictions. Commonage was discussed at great length, giving occasion for several autobiographical episodes. Inter alia, a lament over the impounding of his horse, and a heroic declaration never, no never to pay the 10s damages — until he was sued for it. He didn't like, see, to impose a LSO poll-tax on John Chinaman, and he didn't like either to let him escape scot free ; in fact, he seemed strongly inclined to shilly-shally over this question as much as he did over all the others. He took the opportunity of alluding to the blanket tax, to inform the audience that he had just sent his bedclothes to the washerwoman. Ho read over a list of duties repealed during the last session to show that the interests of the runholder had alone been consulted, the items being woolpacks, fencing wire, pilch and tar, arsenic, &c, &c. He went in for the gradual abolition of Lhe gold duty, but as he was evidently unaware that the only means to get rid of this unfair burden, is by the establishment of a mint, his opinion is not of great importance, lie ended a tedious and trilling speech oi nearly two hours duration by an appeal ad misericordiam managing to introduce Mr. J. C. Brown's name as a party to his candidature, in the hope that that gentleman's great popularity would prove serviceable to him. It was quite evident, however, thai the only focliii"his exhibition excited was good-natured pity.

The Chairman inquired whether any gentleman wished to question the candidate.

Several questions were asked, the candidate see-seeing and see-sawing over moat of them. A question put by Mr. Mervyn as to his opinion in reference to the surplus revenue at present handed over by the General Grovernmcnt to the provinces, elicited the remarkable fact that Mr. Dean was utterly ignorant of the bearings of this question. Auother question put by Mr. M. McCarthy "whether he thought the Government bound to give employment to immigrants brought out by them in exterminating Scotch thistles and wild Irishmen?" also proved a puzzler. Mr. Fitzgerald thought that considering the distance M!r. Deaae liacl come to address tliern, it would only be politeness on their part to declare him a fit and proper person to sit in the House of Representatives, without, however, pledging anyone to support him. The motion was seconded and carried.

With a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting broke up.