DENOUNCING THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2962, 9 July 1891, Page 4

DENOUNCING THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.

TO THE KDITOH. Sik,—Stumpers in the political speech"* with which they are in the habit of favouring the political uneducated would be nowhere, if it were not that they have a sure ally in their hearers' ignorance of political matter, both past and present. Take, for instance, denouncing rho past. AVhon one. looks into it, one "has every reason (o bless the past. What was mail originally? Why man in his primitive fitntu was something like, only a little lower, than the Australian aboringinal. 11 matt --|>L-iuiitivu man - had in his primitive stale been what man now is, and if wo now had descended down to the aboriginal an he in lua primitive stato was, Ihc act of rleseension from ascension might ju3tly and truly be termed unjust. Hut when, by the Creator's law of evolution, men's law has been ascension, man in Marling fault, with that ascension is only showing his ignorance. When I spc.ik about the pnst 1 refer to what was b.-forc <ny day. Mr Kditor, I will have more to say on the donouncin/; of the present. Sir George Grey is great in tactics. Il« likes to tickle the multitude, and his great euteiiMs lies in his selections of what to tickle them with. As a nili! ho tickles the people with koiiio jji'iat fancied evil ; more especially, if he wiiiitti to rti-.iw a lien ing across the scent. Wheu he liuds that theru aru questious which it would be better for himself to ."tuor clear of, bo ataits one of theae fancied uvila, and uo tains his end—that eiil being that ho Htill tickles the people and avoiila having to enter into questions which lu; knows i( would he hpt-'er far biin.iflf to avoid, Bir G'Mrg' , Giry finds that at the present- time that there ate (|.ifstions whicli he would prefer to siy xi lil.tlo upon as h<- possibly can. At the .'nine timn he knows that to subside and Hiy noLhiii" would be to lose \m prestige n< Ihc idol of thn democracy. Artful (I i.|.;vr that ho i«, lie start.) a subject I'Vion which he ia quite safe to harangue that snbjivt in elective Governors. Some years agn thin subject of elective Governors earr.e in mighty hnndy to him, r.nd now once more it u Innrly. He can tickle Ilia hearers upon elective Governors w ithimt placing hima*lf upon ground that cm be of danger to him. However, Mr Editor, as it is best that flummeries should he exposed, I will Ra y a little upon elective Governors. It has been truly said that the pioaent large armies in Europe are an appalling calamity. No I : doubt that is true. To think uunn the j . sufferings of wounded men, ako tha ;

wi lows ;-.iid orphaiH which are left after 011- iiri-at battle, in which, perhaps, a qiiaiter of a mill ion of men have been slain ; the thoughts '•( such ar." enough lo h.-u-'-ou- anyone. It lias al-.o to be r'-iiii-inlii'i-ed t-liHt these hi rye npuies, being non-producers, an , so much drain upon Ui': community. I haw: m> statistics tn <."> uiiiii, lint I very much question if Ilicrc i.i more drain upon Mm community by non pioluc'Ts, such as soldier. l , are, in tliii-i; Kurnpean Stales ; also, if there arc nioi'C men slain in battle in thi'se States than what lives then! are Jo-it in the United States of America caused by electing l're.si'lcnU. Anyone who his lived in the. States must know that the trade of politics is one in which trade the whole. aiM non-producers. In that trade in the Unite.l States there are as many moil as would compose the French army. If so, then the cost of electing a President costs as much to the United States as the armies of the Continental •States co«t their respective Governs nients. Hut when 1 say there are as many lives lost in the United States by electing Presidents as there h on the Continent by fighting battles, it will be siid I am talking nonsense. Well, one timn and another I have thought a great ileal about it, and I do not think lam talking fudge. We will suppose every quarter of a century there is a Sedan fought, in which s'iy them an; 100,000 men slain. In a quarter of a century then; are six elections for the I'residental chair. I have no hesitation in saying, during the time of these six elections that h in twenty five years, thero are 100.000 men lose their lives in ouo way or another through these elections. The suicides through such elections, their name must be legiou. Why so? Because the losers—those on the losing side—being politicians by trade, are so affected by the loss of their trade, which is the all to them, that the destitution which follows — to the losers of their trade — tempts many thousands in a quarter of a century to take their own lives. Then look at the duels, fights and quarrels which ensue for six months before every election. Though there may not be a life lost in every village, yet when we come to think that the United States is 3,000 miles wide by 2.000 lonic, the lives lost in that large area must be many thousands. Then look at tho accidents, halls being over-crowded to hear politicians, and down comes the floor. In many other ways are lives being lost—fire works crackers falling on shingles and setting fire to houses, and causing the loss of firemen's lives ; cannons firing salutes of victory, and bursting and blowing those nearest to atoms. Bat great as the.se evils arc, the loss of life and the loss financially caused by an army of pollticiaus arc as nothing when compared to the evils which arise through the log-rolling to attain the prize. Fancy what we would be! Dou't we have enough of log-rolling without having a thousand times more. God save us from having an elected Governor. — Yours truly, Harapei'e.

I'.S. —lu looking over the above, I find I have not been strong enough in reiterating that the electien of our Governors would much multiply our politicians who look for remuneration in some shape or form at the country's expense. The Governorship would be a higher prize than the being Premier, consequently the assistance required to gut the prize would need to be greater. The more assistance required, the more the piper would have to be paid.—H,