The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1886. A BUSH ELECTORATE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2487, 29 December 1886, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1886. A BUSH ELECTORATE.

It hasbeen recently discovered .that the bush settlements require special representation in the Assembly, They have already a man after their own heart in W. 0. Smith, of Waipawa, but it is felt that this particular and distinguished member'of the Smith family has shot his bolt, and is bound body and soul to the present administration. What is wanted is an independent representative, a man of tlie right sort who will offer his support to the Government if they will in return give'the bush district a friendly lift,,or go dead against them if they will not pay the price at which the bush districts assiss N their political adherence, Of coursethere is Mr Beetham who is flow • directly represeiifcinig ■ a large section of the bush district, but he is a man afflicted with political principles which might stand in the mj ; of the delicate negotiation which is required to secure'the interests of the settle-

ments, In' some quarters it is considered that Mr MoCatdle is tbe man for Galway, the tnan of all others calculated to secure consideration of, the claims of the hush settlements, But then Mr McCardle is only as yet outside.the gates of ouv political paradise, and opinions are divided as to:' his chance of getting inside at the coming general election. A bush electorate would be a tolerably safe seat for him, . He would no doubt be position 'of: being"a' colleague of, the .great W. 0. Smith, and still ■ prouder of being a colleague- -of • Mr G. Beetham.A bush electorate is evidently the one thing needful to mako politicians happy all round, Is not the. North Wairarapa too populous for a single representative?'' Is it not entitled to one M.H.R. and'perhaps a third of an M.H.11, over, and by taking a rib from the Hawke's Bay District, a sufficient number of bush sutlers could be encircled in a ring fenco to form an electorate, Wo question, however, after all,'whether the Bush electorate project will be realized. Unfortunately it has to be determined by members from Auckland, from Nelson, from Ohristcliurob, and from Otago, and it is hardly t0... be expected that these outsiders will look at the matter from our point of view, or appreciate the advantage of securing Mr McCardle a seat in the House. Unfortunately though Wairarapa North is entitled to one member and a fraction, Wairarapa South is slightly below the line in the number of its electors, and it will probably be declared that tho Wairarapa taken as a whole is at present fairly supplied with two members. • The rapid increase of settlers in tho Bush districts will, in a short time, make tho claim of this district for extra representation, imperative, but we question whether the claim can be immediately urged with a fair prospect of success. Possibly when the next redistribution of seats takes place, tho Borough of Masterton may be sufficiently populous to return an independent representative and a 'second member will be given for the North. Wairarapa Country District, At present there is but a small chance of obtaining additional representation for this district, If there were, we would do all in our power to secure it, though we should not be in favor of the project which is now being mooted of amalgamating .the Bush districts of Wairarapa North and Hawkes Bay into a new electorate, for this would probably mean assigning a slice of our own district to the neighboring Province. We admire Mr W. C. Smith, of Waipawa, as much as any man, but we do not. care to hand over to him a fat slice of Wairarapa North,