MATAKOHE.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 227, 8 December 1893, Page 7

MATAKOHE .

Prom our own Correspondent.) [Our correspondent begins by severely criticising- one of the candidates for his electorate in the recent election, but kindly leaves it to our discretion to publish or not. Now- that the election is over no stood purpose can be served by attacking personally a defeated candidate ; had lie hosts elected and were now a representative of the people it would perhaps he allowable to crilieise a public character in the way our correspondent does. A man who stands for an election does electors a favour by giving them the opportunity of making a choice, generally at considerable cost to himself. We have taken the liberty of omitting our correspondent’s remarks, on one who is now a private individual, for reasons given above, and as an attack now would appear like striking a man when he is down. The remainder of our friend’s letter refers to a public body and, although we differ very much from the remarks generally, we gladly publish'them as fair and honest criticism., leaving it to those who differ to reply to the same.—Ed.) Wo see that for an unpardonable sin the Government—the best Government that New Zealand has ever seen—must be ousted—ousted because they did not give the Alliance the Direct VTto on the bare majority Thus the tro..cherous device- of this Alliance is to set up a teetotal Monk for Waiternata, a teetotal Harrison for Marsden, a teetotal Trounson for Bay of Islands, and so on over the whole of New Zealand., Where they- are Liberals a teetotal Liberal is set up ; where Nationalists a National teetotaler : whose they are working men and Unionists, a working- man and Unioriif-t is brought forward. Thus by crafty deception they- seek to send to Wellington ;; lliusi fail of teetotallers to punish tbe present Gove-nmentby-giving Stout tbe Premiership and joining- a teetotal Government, which would be even more in tolls-ant than Roman Catholics. We have respect for Stout, and we like teetotal-sm, and anxiously await the time when the people an ready-to say ‘ Lev vis have a teetotal government’; but to have one forced upon us by- crafty methods of deceit such as are being used by this Alliance at this election is more than the people bargained for and more than we wish. To leave the best Government New Zealand has ever had thus supplanted by such treachery is the darkest scheme ever put forward in New Zealand. And this Alliance by its emissaries really asks the people to sell their liberty and become its slaves. Nearly- the whole of New Zealanders are progressive liberals who ask for evenhanded justice and will be content with nothing less. We demand the same liberty in law, the same libertyin education, the same liberty iu religion, and the same liberty and freedom in all other things as we wish to accord to others and no more. We desire not a liberty to please ourselves at the expense of others, but rather the fulfilment of that Divine law which, requires embodied in every- act the principle of doing- to others as we would they should do unto us. This is true Liberalism and the only- Liberalism worth the name —anything short of this is barbarism, be "it modern or ancient. Neither teetotallers noreligionists have a right to demand our obedir enee or make our faith subservient to their tenets. We have aright to choose what we shall eat and diink, and also what we shall say and think.in accordance with that Divine law and so long as it is not to the injury of others no law ought to be framed by- any Government contrary to that Divine principle.