The Wairoa Bell AND Hobson County Gazette FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1st. THE ELECTIONS.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 226, 1 December 1893, Page 7

The Wairoa Bell AND Hobson County Gazette FRIDA Y, DECEMBER Ist. THE ELECTIONS.

As anticipated the country has again unmistakably declared in favour of the Liberal party as represented by the present Government. All the present Ministers have been returned, but Mr Rolleston leader of the Opposition, with Messrs Scobie Me Kenzie, G. F. Richardson, Fisher and Fish all prominent members of the same party have been defeated. One feature of the elections which perhaps bodes us in the North no good is that, the Government party is pre-eminently a Southern one ; the South Island has almost unanimously returned Government supporters there being only some three or four Oppositionists in the whole island. Of the thirty-one North Island members, on the other hand, some fourteen or more of them cannot be classed

as Government supporters. From this it seems plain to us that our Northern members will have a hard fight to stop, or even check, the flow of our coin into Southern schemes. WeJ have complained so long and bitterly on this score that it seems to us that only desperate measures will avail and we shall not be surprised to hear of the three IV s of the North finding it necessary to make some decided stand in or er to secure attention.

The cities of Auckland and Wellington have not pronounced in favour of Mr Seddon, for not one of their six members can be relied upon to support him personally, Christchurch is strongly with the Premier, but the three members for Dunedin are determined opponents of the Premier's Liquor Bill and will probably be found working with Sir Robert Stout.

The Temperance party have very materially strengthened their position, for in the last Parliament when the crucial test arrived only a very small compact stood to the Direct Veto Bill, whereas during the late elections the question has been made a very prominent one, and a compact party of between 25 and 30 Direct Vetoists have been returned, and amongst them some of the ablest men of the new parliament such as Messrs Stout, Button, Bell, Monk. Earnshaw and others. Here again we find the South Island more pronounced than the North for it lays claim to about twenty of the Direct Vetoists. It is evident that this question will occupy an important place in the history of the new parliament and may become a serious obstacle in thej path of Premier Seddon, the champion of the Liquor Control Bill. The Temperance party and other reformers will be glad to learn of the defeat of that arch-obstructionist Mr Fish, who in past sessions talked away many pounds of public money to no purpose.

When the new parliament assembles in Wellington thirty-two of the seats will be occupied by men who were not in the late parliament, though many of the new members have held seats in previous parliaments. The Opposition, having lost so many of its prominent members will have to be completely re-organised, Let us hope that the new element in the House is one of righteousness and wisdom, bent only on doing good for the people, so that the first parliament in the choosing of which women had a hand may be distinguished above all its predecessors for morality and true worth.