TRUST LAUDS TRUST ELECTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9101, 29 May 1908, Page 5

TRUST LAUDS TRUST ELECTION.

A LIGHT POLL. TWO RETIRING TRUSTEES DEFEATED. Tfetf election of three representatives to the' Masterton Trust Lands Trust created a very smaJt amount of interest? yesterday, a circumstance no doubt largsly due to the depressing weather conditions prevailing during the greater sarfc of the day. Ihe polling booth opfefled at 9 o'clock, the I weather during Ithe early part of the morning being toe. By one o'clock ,only 120 votes Ited been recorded at ! the Drill Hall* :£2at the Kuripiwii Fire Station,. and : seven at Lansdowne. The of voters exercised their priviliegßM late in the afternoon, but when tive booths closed the vast majority of those possessed of the franchise had' thought it not worth while troubling the poll clerk?. Indeed the election l was one of the least exciting held here for some time, the booths during the day having very few interested spectators watching the progress of the polling. The motor car again plaved a conspicuous part in the rallying of indifferent electors, and: particularly of the fair sex, while a few cabs were also engaged to gather in the votes. However the aggregate result was that the highest candidate only polled 495 votes 0uti0f'2,944 on the roll. Last election there were fifteen candidates for seven seats, and on that occasion 903 votes were polled. The exact number of votes recorded yesterday was 910, less than one-third- of those on the roll. The result of' the poll was known shortly after seven o'clock, the Returning Officer (Mr A. Hathaway) announcing the figures from the balcony of the "Age" office. The return of Mr Pragnell by a large majority over the next highest candidate was not in the least unexpected, as the tipsters at' the booths p-edicted an easy win forhimj and their surmises are usually pretty accurate. The defeat of Mr Hessey. was hardly anticipated, but the issues upon which the election was contested made it. very difficult to say what the outcome would be. Some,,no doubt, felt that while they believed in the exchange of sites, their personal respect for the old trustees was a. hard scruple to overcome. But overcome it must have been, in many cases, and the Chairman of the Trust (Mr T. B. Michell) had to be content with third place on the poll! this time, Mr H. G. L. Robinson receiving a larger measure of support, and far outdistancing the other two old Trustees, Messrs E. McEwen and J. Hessey. A "ticket" of Messrs Pragnell, Lamb and Robinson was- a late-conceived idea, and the junior candidate was accorded liberal patronage. Mr Robinson apparently had a "plump" time at Larsdowne, where he resides, as he headed the poll there, the ocher "ticket" candidates being n j xt. The following is a detailed analysis of the voting

CANDIDATES' SPEECHES. MR 0. N. C. PRAGNELL. Mr in returning: thank 3, said lie was indeed proud of the hon- , ourable position of the voters had | placed him in, and for the interest shown in face of the adverse weather conditions!.. He thought the poll wculd , have been much heavier, but for the ! weather, it having been hard to induce voters to come to the poll during the day. Personally, he felt sorry indeed that two old and esteemed Trustees had been defeated, as they were both very estimable citizens,, but he could not, of course, be hypocritical, and. say be was sorry for their defeat on account of the views they held. The public had decided, it was shown to put fresh blood into the Trust, and that was responsible for their failure at this election. In again thanking the voters for their handsome sup port, Mr Pragnell said he hoped that at the end of his term be would be able to show that he had merited their confidence. MR li. C. L. ROBINSON.. Mr Robinson said he felt somewhat at a disadvantage as he had prpeared a speech in which he was to congratulate someone else. He entirely agreed with Mr Pragnell regarding the defeated Trustees, who, he believed, had done what they considered best in the interests of the voters. The verdict of the voters in nowise cast a reflection upon their work, as i.t had been long and honourable; The speaker regretted the lack of interest shown in the election by the voters, and urged chem to display a greater enthusiasm in such a valuable institution. He complimented the opposing candidates on the good feeling shown throughout the campaign, and concluded by heartily thanking the voters for returning him to a seat on the Trust. MR T. B. MICHELL. Mr Michell, in a brief speech, thanked his supporters for their renewed confidence, at the same time expressing regret that his two old colleagues had not been returned. He assured them that the election had oeen fought nut on the exchange of Bites question, and said that though he had oposed it, he would, if the exchange was to come about, do his best to conserve the interests of the Trust. MR E. McEWEN. Mr McEwen said that it was his luck to be balloted out of the Trust this year, after only a year of office, and though he was ' not included among the elected he had held a high position at last poll. He hoped those elected would give satisfaction, and that if the exchange of sites were accomplished it would be a good bargain for the Trust—it would be for the Government at anyrate. MR J. HESSEY. Mr Hessey, in returning thanks, also attributed the result to the feet--1 ing over the exchange of sites. He

had opposed tine prop&fcitioh submitted to the Trust witlr sdhlb emphasis,, and said his opinio^ l v*as that a referendum of the voters Would" still reject a proposition to ortjr away £I,OOO of the Trust they did not possess at presentMR W. G. LAMB. Mr Lamb said he was very grSfti*" fied indeed to have received sucJi'a 1 large measure of sppport. He waft 1 ' a young candidate, and not so widely 7 known as his opponents, but he had' received a much greater number of votes than he anticipated, and felt encouraged to come forward again in the future. A vote uf thanks was recorded the Returning Officer, and the crowd dispersed.

J3 S cJ c & 5 t-. o 'U ■"£' u tn S rf Ha u V o a >.,j D _J 0. N. C. Pragnell 354 7,7, 12 52 4'fi II. C.. L_ Robinson 284 58 7 67 416 T. B. Michell 313 45" 17 19 394 E. McEwen 261 34 10 16 321 J. Hessev , 254 33 14 18 319 W. Lamb 201 56 7 24 306 S. Kingdon 74 18 o 4 98