ALL IN AND NO HOLDS BARRED WHEN OUR PARENTS VOTED

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 219, 3 September 1943, Page 8

ALL IN AND NO HOLDS BARRED WHEN OUR PARENTS VOTED

ALF a century and more ago the people awaited eagerly the triennial election campaigning and especially the night of the poll. They had no radio, no moving pictures, not so many racemeetings and other organised entertainments. They had to rely mainly on themselves for their fun, which they, took whenever and wherever they could, General elections supplied the need. ' No candidate had to work hard to muster an audience for a meeting. His hall. was sure to be packed, and the crowd would include plenty of hecklers. That was the time of tolerance of many kinds of practical joking, libellous words (written and spoken), and other annoyances which the law now sternly represses. There were gangs of young men with little or no interest in politics, who ranged from one meeting to another for only one purpose-fun and frolic. Live cats, dead rats and other .missiles were thrown through windows. The candidates had to shout their opinions, and appeals through barrages of taunts and insults. It did indeed take much courage to stand for a seat in the House of Representatives. Eggs in Plenty Eggs had a big innings on election night. Wise folk did not go out in their best clothes. In those days nearly all householders had*some fowls and raised their own chicks. Eggs which did not hatch out in election year were saved up. Other common ammunition included small paper bags filled with flour, decayed fruit, and rotten potatoes: There were scuffles and fights which left their impress on many persons for many days after the night of the poll. The big flow of printers’ ink included all manner of lampoons and skits circulated in "dodgers" and great spreads in the press. Scholarly opponents fired dignified but hard-hitting broadsides at one another in the manner of Samuel Johnson or Macaulay. Leader-writers and correspondents went all out with extremely libellous assertions (judged by present standards). It was all-in fighting, catch-as-catch-can, no holds barred. Here are some specimens from newspapers: "Fly-Blown Aristocrats" From the "Otago Daily Times" of February 25, 1871: "A Mr. Yardley, who was one of the candidates for the seat for Westland North in the House of Representatives, in addressing a meeting of 700 miners at Charleston spoke as follows: ‘Gentle‘men, you must know that all the Super- intendents of the different provinces are by virtue of their office as Superintendent members of the Legislative Council, and if there are any pickings they will have their share of them. They maintain with their pickings a certain fiy-blown class of dilapidated aristocrats whom I should dismiss at once if returned. Mr. Kennersley, at one of his meetings, made a statement with which Ir disagree, that

all the chief men of the colony should belong to the House of Representatives. What he meant by the chief men I cannot understand, except a class of threadbare, moth-eaten, and fly-blown mendicants who call themselves aristocrats and boast of fathers, yachts, horses, dogs and carriages (immense cheering). Now gentlemen, if I am returned by you to the Colonial Parliament I shall not disgrace you by flunkeying after Mr. This and Mr. That to introduce me to His Honour Mr. This or That; but, gentlemen, I shall smash right bang in among them.’ (Here the greatest applause ever falling to one man’s share was heaped on the speaker)." Visit From An Ass From the "Nelson Colonist,’ November 6, 1868: "The Tuapeka Times, a new and creditably got-up paper, published at Laurence, the Otago goldfields, in its issue of October 3 gives the following: ‘Mr. T. L. Shepherd, member for the Goldfields, addressed a large meeting of constituents at the Town Hall, Queenstown, on Monday evening’ last. The Mayor, Mr. J. W. Robertson, J.P., occupied the chair. Mr. Shepherd’s address was in his usual self-laudatory style. He strove hard to impress his hearers with the belief that had they not elected him as their member for the Provincial Council a number of good things would have been lost to them, and that at the next election for the General Assembly they should return him to the House of Representatives. Unfortunately his hearers did not seem to see the necessity for so doing. About the middle of his (Mr. Shepherd’s) speech a donkey, ridden by a man, strode right into the hall, up to the platform, and created immense confusion The rider averred that partly by his own free will, and partly by dint of pushes from various. bystanders, the animal forced its way into Mr. Shepherd’s presence, where it stcod for some time pricking up its ears, apparently much

edified by Mr. Shepherd’s remarks. The donkey was afterwards quietly removed, probably intending to vote for Shepherd as member for Hampden at the next election. The next day the rider was brought before the Resident Magistrate. The only excuse he offered was that, if asses were excluded, public meetings would be but thinly attended. The Magistrate fined him £2 10s and severely reprimanded him for deliberately insulting the Mayor and townspeople by his conduct.’ " The Retort Discourteous This was the Wellington "Evening Post's" salute to the Wellington "Indedendent" on December 24, 1870: "The names of ‘liar,’ ‘slanderer,’ and ‘libeller’’ (which our contemporary politely bestows upon us), we return to their legitimate owner. They are the only honours he has ever earned in the field of journalism-He won them well, and may he wear them long." A Painful Duty! An editorial in the "Marlborough Times" of September 8, 1879, had this piece: "It is never a pleasant duty to expose falsehood, and where the author is advanced in age, and giving evidence of imbecility, it becomes painful indeed. The interest of the public, however, must be protected, no matter how much we hurt the feelings of the Editor of the Express. Much may be fair in electioneering, but we have yet to learn that point-blank lying is.justifiable under any circumstances . . . The Editor of the Express cannot be trusted in the slightest degree... ." Grisly Polling-Booth From the "Wairarapa Mercury," January 28, 1871: "As an instance of economy displayed by the constable at Masterton, we may (Continued on next page)

(Continued from previous page) mention that the place where the electors have to record their votes is enclosed by two old blankets which belonged to the suicide, Mc-, who hanged: himself on Mr. Vallance’s run some months ago." : When "Dick" Was King The elections won by Richard John Seddon would make a book of thrills. He had one of his greatest nights in his final campaign in 1905, the year before he died suddenly at sea returning from a trip to Australia. The huge audience in the Canterbury Hall included-a large number of zealous supporters of the late "Tommy" Taylor, the bitterest opponent of "King Dick." When the Premier stepped on to the platform he was greeted with howls and hoots which drowned his terrific voice. From the reporters’ tables just below the platform it was impossible to hear a word of the address. They took turns in mounting the platform, and even when they were only a few feet away from the speaker, at the risk of getting a black eye or flattened nose from the strong swinging hands, they could catch only a word or two at intervals: The uproar raged for nearly two hours. Perspiration streamed from Dick’s forehead and dripped from his beard. But he went on until he conquered the enemy. Their vocal cords gave out. They tried to keep going, but. only queer pipings, not loud, came from | their overwrought vocal organs. Then Seddon repeated his speech, which could | be easily noted. at the tables below the platform. He -had the will to win-and he won,