BLACKS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 281, 19 June 1873, Page 3

BLACKS.

(From our mvn Correspondent.) June 13. The coming elections ai'e the present topics of conversation by all classes at the present time, and of course your humble servant must join in politics too. Well, to commence with, the first election that our district will be called upon to have a voice in, will be over before this can appear in print, as the election for Superintendent takes place on the 18th, so that there is no need to say much about it1 think by the time your next issue arrives here, Mr. Macundrew will be again Superintendent of Otago, at any rate if he is not it will nob be the fault of the electors of the Dunstan district. The election of a member for the Dunstan district for the Provincial Council does not take place till the 20th, so I am still in time for that, as in the ordinary course your paper will arrive at Blacks on the morning of the election. Well we have as far as is known at present, two candidates are in the field — Mr. J. Hazlett and Mr. T. L. Shepherd ; the former we have not had the pleasure of having yet, but the latter treated US tQ a delicious dish of his own very best qualities, on Tuesday evening hut. The dose was skilfully administered at the Shamrock Hotel, to seven free and independent persons, in the presence of an audience of about 40. There were 5 others who also partook of the good things provided by the hon. gentleman, but having been overdosed, they vomited; so of course as far as they were concerned it was all labor thrown away. The spectators were highly delighted with the process, which is a very simple one. The speaker after getting as many subjects round him as possible, stands up, and is very particular that the door must be kept shut. (I suppose to prevent the gas escaping.) He then tells them that he is a candidate for the Provincial Council for their district. He also says that he believes there are other candidates in the field, but he is sure he is the best man for them out of the whole lot. He said that it did not do to raise men from insignificant positions to the very exalted one of member of the Provincial Council, for this reason : That the higher a monkey climbed up a tree, the more you could see his tail. (At this stage those whom 1 have mentioned as being overdosed, began to show signs of distress, for my own part as I was only one of the spectators, the thought struck me that Mr. Shepherd himself bad been climbing the tree so long, and his tail had got so prominent, that it was time he was ordered down ; and if he declined to come down, some one should go up and drag him down by the appendage above referred to.) After talking in this strain for some considerable time, he invited any of the persons then present, subjects or spectators, to ask him a few questions, Several of the electors complied with the request, and received some very evasive answers ; in fact, the questions were mostly answered by asking others, or by telling the questioneis about something eke. This, I have since learned, is the real secret of the whole administration, and the learned gentleman is found to be very careful always while going through with it, otherwise a relapse might set in that would ruin all his former work. At this stage, one of the subjects proposed that Mr. Shepherd was a fit and proper person to represent this district in the Provincial Council. Seconded by another. One of the overdosed ones proposed an amendment that Mr. Shepherd was not a fit or proper person. This was also seconded by another. A show of hands being taken, the motion was declared carried, t being in favor of the motion, aud 5 against. This terminated the first part of a three act drama. The other parts are to be taken at Drybread, Tinkers Gully, Clyde, and Alexandra. After this attempt at a farce, let me give the electors of the district my opinion. I will ask them in the first place what has Mr. Shepherd ever done or tried to do for them, or for the district he represents 1 In the second place, what has he ever done for himself 1 His one or two friends cannot point to anything that ever he proposed should be done for this portion of the district at any rate. As to his being the friend of the miners, what has he ever done for them. As for the new Mining Bill it remains to be proved, whether it is any improvement on former Bills or not. I have not had an opportunity of reading it yet, but from what I can hear of it, there are many claims in it that would be a disadvantage to miners, aud which the Act now in force does net contain, Ithink we have received sufficient proof during the past 6 years that Mr. Shepherd will not do any good for us, or to use his own words that the monkey has gone up the tree so far and shown so much of his tail that it is absolutely necessary to remove him, and let some other person try the climbing business. Should no other candidate present liimself, T should advise »that all those who have any interest in the district should scratch the pen through his name on the voting paper, and leave Hazlett clear. m