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Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 949, 14 December 1881, Page 2

The final test applied to'/.the ballot papers throughout the colony has revealed miiny instances of. double Voting, 'an offence which is punishable by imprisonment. The gravest case is an alleged one brought aginst the Hon. 1 0. J. Pharazyn. In this district the Returning, Officer has delected double voting on the part of one man. We can well understand that somo settlors may have committed the offence in ignorance, and, from a moral and a legal point of viewj their conduct will lie liiihtly regarded. We are at a loss, however, to explain, on a similar grouud, the alleged charge' against the Hon. 0. J, Pharazyn. We can only trust that the judgment of the public will.be suspended till fuller evidence of' a corrupt practice has been placed before it. The Hon. C J. Phamyn's integrity has never before beon called in question, and we sincerely hope that in the present instance some explanation will be forth' coming which wiil remove the very painful impression which the accusation alono must'necessarily produce. Mr Eenall's friends have spread a report, and we think invented it, that some of the Mauriceville settlers have infringed the Corrupt Practices Act.' As far as we can learn there is no ground for the aspersion which they have attempted to cast on the Scandinavian votars.

A good deal has been said latterly by Opposition papers "f itie purity and independence of the junrnalmts who conduct them, and nf the lln-aldum of those conduct rs of tils public Press who support the Ministry. It is a great pity that dog should eat dug in this way, and it is a subject mi which wo dislike to comment. Our own experience has been that the Opposition politicians have been the only public men in thu colony who have bribed and corrupted the Press; and.that the journalists who talk so freely about purity and independence aro the very men who have lingered the money. We never knew a member of the Hall Ministry to influence diiecly or indirectly the Press, out their predecessor)), the Grey Ministry, in the most oi<un and shameless manner, paid money for newspaper support.