THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1884.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1880, 24 July 1884, Page 2

THURSDA Y, JULY 24, 1884.

By their vote on Tuesday the electors of Wai pa have selected Mr Lake to be their member. We know of no other similar contest in which there was less rancour, less personal feeling than in this. That many and various subterfuges to gain votes should have been had recourse to is only what was to be expected, but the fight was fought in perfect good humour, and we feel assured that Mr Lake is in simply because it was the wish of the electors that he should be. Whatever little soreness may have been occasioned by the excitement of the moment, and it is impossible to run an election without something of the kind, we trust it will speedily be forgotten. From to day all true friends of the district will cheerfully bury the hatchet and unite to strengthen the hands of the man who has been elected by the majority to represent them. f Jhe new Parliament will witness many changes, many events of deep political significance, and in the readjustment of parties which is sure to take place, the < arnest sympathy of the electorate should be at the command of the new member. MiLake enters tho House at a critical time. He has also much to learn. But he is no novice. Befoie he came to the colony he served an excellent apprenticeship to the calling of a local government administrator in one of the shire councils of England, and that he profited by the lesbons then learned is sufficiently proved by his conduct of the affairs of the Pukekura II ad Board and the County Council of Waipa. The contention that in Mr Lake we have an untried man, a tyro, cannot fairly be urged. Whatever degree of aptitude for Parliamentary life he may enjoy his work in the county of Waipa stamps him as an energetic, and useful member of the community, a quahfica'ion which, we need scarcely adc 1 , he holds in common with the gentleman who was opposed to him. It is not necessary that we should pause to enquiie into the causes which brought about the defeat of Major Jackson. That his published platform, while it gained over to his side some who formerly difFered from him, lost him many of his old supporters is pretty well known, and this we think is all that need be said about the matter. The battle is over, and it only remains for the constituents to join together and give their representative such a loyal support as will ensure him a hearing in the councils of the colony.

The striking, we might say unpardonable absurdity ot some of the questions put by electors to candidates at election times will doubtlesß have struck many of our readers ere this. All who have read the papers and perused the reports of political meetings will at once agree with us that a large proportion of the questions asked weie not only of an unintelligent, but in many cases of an unintelligible character. It will also have been noticed that in many instances the gentlemen appointed to preside at these meetings knew little or nothing of the pioper course to adopt in the conduct of such gatherings, or they would never have allowed many of the questions which monopolised the time and the attention, of the candidates to be put. People go to these meetings, and through some superior political knowledge or local influence which they are supposed to possess, aie elected to the position of Chairman, the duties of which office they are altogether ignorant ot. The meeting proceeds, questions are allowed to be put which the common sense of the president ought to ttll him should not be allowed, debates upon niattuis purely personal or local are allowed to be indulged iv, and the true feeling of the meeting on motions of thanks or confidence is in very few instances correctly ascertained. At Mr Lake's meeting at Cambiidge, on Saturday evening a number of the questions asked were oi a character which the o'hahnian should not have allowed to be put. These referted to the candidates' connection with the road boaid or the county council, his opposition to the fanning of certain pieces of road, his opposition in respect to the fencing of the cemetei y and his action in respect and other matters which did not in any way concern his candidature. Indeed, the proceedings had taken such a turn at one time that a gentleman was obliged to interpose and ask the chairman if MiLake was on his trial for ail the misdeeds and actions of his past life, private or public? The chairman of a political meeting should be a man who understands his business, and if he be conscious of his own inability— which very few men are — to conduct the proceedings properly he should exemplify his judgment and good taste by declining the proffered post. This would save the time of the more intelligent portion of the audience, and relieve the candidate from a lot of questions which no more concern the political career of a candidate than they do the concerns of the private life of his questioners.

The official declaration of the result of the polling for Waipa will bo made on Saturday next at noon. The concert in aid of the harmonium fund of the Hukanui Hall takes place to-night. Commander Edwin telegraphed at 3 p.m. yesterday :— lndications of glass fall within 24 hours from now, and after 12 hours strong winds between east and north and north-west. The following will compose the Hamilton West football team in the match j against Hamilton East on Saturday : — ! Odium (2), Mays, Aitken, Hobson, Danks, Davis, Mclntyre (2), Dent, Biggs, Mailers, Barclay, Devitt, Martin, Smith, Jolly. A football match between Te Aroha and a Waikato team will take place on Sydney Square, Hamilton, on Saturday, 'the 9th August. The Aroha men may be expected to arrive on the afternoon of the B(jja, and an even game is exited,

His Worship the R.M. -will -Rive hia decision in the Mangapiko bridgd case at the sitting of the Cambridge R.M. Court to-morrow. In response to a requisition, the Mayor of Hamilton convenes a public meeting at the Public Hall on Monday evening next to consider the proposed dosing of the Kirikinroa Post-office. Archdeacon Willis will visit Lichfield for divine service on Sunday next. The services at Cambridge and Ohaupo will be conducted by the Rev. R. J. Thorpe, Incumbent of S. Paul's Wellington, and late Archdeacon of Waimea, diocese of Nelson. The only business brought before the R.M. Court at Hamilton yesterday, before Mr Northcroft, was an application by Cant. McPhersyn for a rehearing of the case Kirikitiroa Road Board v. H. Mullions, claim for rates. The application was granted. Workmen are now busily engaged effecting repairs to the Cambridge R.M. Court. The present shingle roof is being replaced by one of galvanised iron. Several other much ueeded repairs will be effected. Fiie-places will also be erected in the court-room and the clerk's room. The Cambridge-Oxford road is at present in a very heavy conditiou, and is not at all pleasant for wheeled traffic. Several vehicles have already come to grief and have only with considerable difficulty been extricated. The To Awamutu swamp road is also in a wretched condition, notwithstanding the extensive repairs effected last season. At the Maungatautari native settlement there were about thirty-five natives who intended taking part in the recent election. They were under the impression that the day upon which to record their votes was the s-ame as the polling day of the pakeha, and so did not come into Cambridge to vote until Tuesday. Their disappointment on finding " their occupation gone " was evidently very intense, and had to be appeased with sundry potations. An exciting pedestrian contest took place at Cambridge yesterday, and was witnessed by a large number of interested spectators. Mr Francis Rose, "Mine Host "of the Masonic, entered into an engagement with Mr Cleary, of Te Aroha, to run 100 yds. for £5, he (Mr Rose) having a stai t of 10yds. Both men weigh about 18st. The event took place in one of the streets of the town. Mr Rose was "collared " about 70yds. from home, and did not appear in the event after, leaving his opponent to win as he liked. We stated some time ago that it was the intention of the committee of the Cambridge Mutual Improvement Association, the association having ceased to e\ist, to hand over a credit balance of about £ti to the local Public Library. It was then thought be^t by some of the member^ that as it was likely another attempt would be made this season it would be unwise to pait with the surplus funds too soon. .Sufficient time has now elapsed to peimit of any attempt beiug made, and as no advantage seem-> to be taken of the delay, a meeting of the committee will be called foithwith when the association will be formally wound up, and its affairs disposed of. In view of the planting and beautifying ot the Cambridge Domain Lands by the local boaid several handsome presents of plants and shrubs have already been made by settlers. It will be seen by the lepoit of the Domain Boaid pioeeedinßs, which appeals in another column that in addition to the valuable mesents all cad y mentioned, Messrs Peaison, Bios., of Hautapu have offeied a paicel of plants which the boaid of course, have been glad to accept. If all the settlers in the distiict who have plants to spaie would thus gcneioualy come foiward and contribute \v hat they can afford the work of beantifying the domain leserve would become a work of interest, and the money thus savpd could be dcv oted to the procuring of labour and material which cannot be contubuted. The people of Cambridge West aie again agitating m the direction of having a township under the Town Districts Act. It will be remembred some time ago that the people of the di&trict held a public meeting which gave li&e to a petition to the Colonial Secretary, which, however, was never entei tamed. They now consider they liavo remained long euough in a state of apathy, and that by bunging the above mentioned Act into foice they will be advancing 1 the welfare of the place, enhancing the value of local propei ty, and bringing about a new era of prospenty never to be evpocted under the existing state of things. The question was brought fonvaid at Mr Lake's meeting on Satin day night, and that gentleman said that, for their own good, he would oppose any such proposal. The following special messages to the Pi ess Association, dated London, July 21st, have been published — The frozen meat by the Opawa is selling at 4jjd per lb. — The Warsaw plot against the Czar was of the greatest extent of any yet discovered, and was directed from Moscow. Numerous prominent airests in connection with it have been made.— Mr Alfied Wells, Q.C., will succeed the late Sir C. J. Watkin Williams as Judge of the Queen's Bench. — The Spectator condemned Lord Derby's pronounced indifference to the demands of the colonies ; but the Saturday Review, in an article on the same subject, approves the action of the Government, and warns the I colonies to be modest in their demands, and uiges the adoption of a cautious policy. The Daily Telegraph warmly approves of the newly-pioposed plans for admitting colonial bamsteis to practice at the English bar. — It is coiisideied doubtful whether the Egyptian Conference will again meet, owing to the lefusal of the Powers to accept a i eduction of the interests on the Egyptian debt, as proposed the committee of financial experts. — The Greely exploring party of whom six members were recently rescued, reached to 83deg, 2Gmin. north latitude, or witiiin Odog. 34min. of the North Pole. — The prospectus of the new Oriental Bank Company provides for a capital of two millions. The fir&t issue of shares will amount to one million, which will be divided between England and the colonies. Local boards of directors will be appointed for the Indian and colonial branches.