CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2649, 16 July 1887, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

MB HOGG'S CANDIDATUKE,

|tO THK EDITOR,] ■• ' : »'; Sir,—'All who know anything about politics in Masterton are,. of .course, :well aware that the requisition asking' Mr Hogg to become a candidate for' the representation of the district is all moonshine,-and that Mr Hogg has nwely borrowed a leaf from Artemus Ward,, who 'paid; a band to surprise him with a serenade," so that he might bo able to say- "For this unexpected honor Itliank you." Ido not know how much'the seranadei-is to be paid in the present case, but in all probability Mr- Hogg has- taken care that the receipt of the •bill., shall not form a portion of the public ceremony. Th e majority of the electors :know that Mr Hogg had privately . canvassed his chances before be made 'his illmannered.' attack upon his friend, My McGardlo—made, forsooth, because thfr latter was straightforward enough. to compliment Mr Beetham ,up6n.'the ; . fair and gentlemanly spirit. in. which ho had always, met him; Mr.Hogg considered that statement a fair handle by means of which he might" round " on a friend who stood in jhis'way, and the manner in which lie did it left no .doubt whatover of his' intentions. I .'should like hiiii to state distinctly, when [ho' addresses '.'the ...electors, ■Whether he was or was not in correspondence..with at least oriel member of .the Ministry upon the subject, and whether he did not urge that Mr McOardlo should be requested to stand for the Wpodville diafcrict in order to give 'himself a chance in Masterton. If he can prove' that he did not do auything.,of the kind, it would, to some extent,-Somifer bala'nco: tlio * brusque treachery displayed m the- attack, upon Mr

McCavilo. Let me explain that this bit of play, of which tho public was, of combo, supposed to be. ignorant, did not- surprise iiie,. npr auyone who knows Mr Hogg, There are. some natures which can never, admit honesty" .of purpose iu ail opponent,- uo matter how spotless his character, .may be. They recognise the fact that mud shows ■<Sio' more readily on, a white ground, and, like the younger larrikins; they tako oxtra delight in bespattering what

.they found spotless. It is a curious iact that politicians who are possosscd of'such an unsavory nature.seldom claim to be immaculate. They are probably perfectly well aware that the -public has their, measure, or they feel so 'awkward under the mere thought that they keop" •tho'. idea of.it altogether in' tho background as long as they possibly oan. Mr "Hogg is. certainly not one of those who can say to the electors "I stand before you with dean hands." •If he werotoputhis own thoughts before

the men whose suffrages be is now seoking, he would say, "I am a Socialist, and shall be one until such time as will see me iu bettor circumstances. ~To gain my ends I will, as much as lies in my power, set class 'against olass, and I know of no better mode of doing this, than by introducing invidious taxation., I know I have a section of tho working classes with me, because they do not reflect that, without capitalists there would be no 'employment, and thoy would be very glad to see property evenly divided. Of course, they do not see that - Protection makes living dearer, and so it serves the purposes very well." Let me say that Mr Hogg has a very poor estimate of the workiagman—the.man

wlioin lie flattera mth his oiie baud, while he seeks to batter him with the other-if he' thinks that he can lead him with : socialistic claptrap, and shallow arguments about Protection. I have seen quite enough of the workmg.morunihe Wairarapa to givehim credit for knowing on which side his bread is buttered. If

there are any who believe-that such a humbug as Protection can do them good, they will have the plain and unvarnished facts put before them, and it will bo their own fault if they suffer in the end. In a future letter I shall, with your permission, deal with tho paragraphs of Mr Hogg's manifesto in detail. . '■}.■ I am, etc.,". Ignotus.