THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25 1912 TO-DAY'S ELECTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10718, 25 September 1912, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25 1912 TO-DAY'S ELECTION.

The election which is being fought in Masterton to-day between Messr:; A. W. Hogg and H. Evans for the vacancy on the Masterton Trust Lands Trust, caused by the lamentable, death of Mr J. H. Pauling, will, it is to be hoped, not, engender either ostentation or nervous excitement. Tlio circumstances under which tiio election is being hold are such a;; to demand greater respect for the opinions held by the departed 'townsman than for the eccentricities of persons who may be seeking to .gain a little political advantage. For ourselves, we shall be satisfied with the return of either Mr Hogg or Mr Evans, though we are sorry to think that the latter gentleman has associated himself with a faction which is striving to create needless disturbance in the Trust. "We have always given the people credit for entrusting the management of their affairs to gentlemen who are capable of rendering good service to the town, and a I though a spirit of lethargy may not always be wholesome, the fact that the business is conducted smoothly, and with a proper regard for the interests of the beneficiaries under the Trust, is a sufficient guarantee for the future. We have had rather much of Trust matters of late. The town is becoming tired of the continued iteration of what the Trust is. what it ought j to be, and what it is not. The Act is there for the guildanoe of the Trustees and the rest is a question of administration, pure and simple. Dare anybody assert that the Trustees have l not been honestly and concientiously I endeavouring to administer tire revenues for the welfare of those who are entitled to receive benefits? It is true that mistakes have been made. They are made on all administrative bodies. But taking everything into account, we are proud to be able to say that the institution, composed largely of business men, has been conducted on frugal and satisfactory business lines. It is very well for a novice to come along and say, "Here, you have an endowment with £OO,OOO, and only 1 per cent, of that amount is being expended upon the cause of education." That is all moonshine and bunkum. No business man would include his ausots in his profit and loss accouir' and it is ridiculous to include vacant and unlettable section* with those wKioh are occupied, and assess the

profits upon the wholo. What the people have to consider is whether they are getting a fair retnr:i from , the properties that are in occupation, and whether all reasonable stops have i been taken to secure tenants for the I vacant sections. Those who have 1 I watched the proceedings of the Trust will have no apprehension on this score. As for the question of what j amount is, or is i!ot, expended upon 1 education, that is a matter of polirv i 1 and revenue, pure .and simple. The ; late Mr A. W. IJenall, who was one |of the founders of the Trust, wa,s a ! Trustee at the time that the scope of the Trust was ox tended to include j works of public utility, and it is sheer ; nonsense, therefore, to suggest thai: ! the intentions of the founders have I not been respected. It is too late in the day to discuss questions of that sort. What the voters require to know is whether the'funds are being administered in the best interest? of all concerned. Again we pay that the composition of the Trust is a sufficient guarantee on this score. To-day's election, therefore, turns largely on the question of corsonalitv. Mr Hogg 'has been an old and faithful servant I of t*ho,r>nhHo. He had spent a large portion of his lifo in assisting to frame , the laws of the country. He has bad , to make room for a younger man in j the wider sphere of politics, but he is I yet capable of rendering valuable service to his fellows. Are the electors going to tell him, after his many efforts, in their behalf —and here let us say that Mr Hortg has nlayed an important part in securing evorv amend-ment of the Act that was needed —that they have no further use for i him. and that the rem dirtier of his ) davs must be- snout in the seclusion of I private life? We cannot conceive I that such ingratitude were possible. IWo have no objection whatever to j Mi- Evans as a hard-working settlor and a. man. Nor can we say that he | would not make a desirable Trustee. But we do say. and pay with all sincer■ity, 'that, considering the circumstances under which t.bo' election is, beirie -; lield. and r.he past services of Mr Hoct' to the Trust and the. town, it would be almost a public scandal if he were te-day placed at the . top of the poll. i '