The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1913. THE GREY BY-ELECTION

New Zealand Tablet, 24 July 1913, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1913. THE GREY BY-ELECTION

OME time ago we remarked in these columns (BQ|W{ that the Second Ballot Act was alright in n||«\ theory and on paper, but that it was apt W££~%y to work out in practice in a way that could could hardly be anticipated, and in a manner that was directly contrary to the, expectation and calculations of its framers. Theoretically, we wrote, when there are two Government candidates and one Opposition candidate at an election, and a second ballot has to be taken between the leading Government candidate and the Opposition candidate, it is assumed that the supporters of the Government candidate who has been eliminated will throw in their lot with the surviving Government candidate, and make his return certain. Practically, that is precisely what does not happen. Out of a feeling of annoyance and chagrin, or from other more or less reasonable motives, the supporters of the disappointed Government man promptly transfer their votes to the Opposition candidate, and secure his return. That is what happened, notoriously, at Tuapeka, at Dunedin North, and at Wellington North at the, general election before last, and in several instances, also, at the last election. And that, although the position is not precisely parallel, is what is not at all unlikely to happen in the present by-election at Grey. * It seems to be generally considered that the Catholic voters are now the dominant factor in the election; and should they decide, as a protest against the tactics employed at the first ballot, to cast their votes against the Reform candidate, it cannot be said that they have not received strong provocation. Our Greymouth correspondent, in a wire received by us at this moment of writing, speaks not, only of the ' unfair tactics' but also of the ' insults' to Catholics and the Catholic religion which were employed by Mr. Michel's supporters to arouse and inflame the spirit of bigotry amongst the Protestant voters. The sectarian issue,' he wires, ' which caused Mr. Hannan's defeat, is being widely discussed here, and the tactics adopted to bring about the Liberal candidate's rejection are being exposed daily.' What those tactics were may be sufficiently gathered from Mr. Hannan's statement to a reporter of. the Greymouth Evening Star. On being questioned on the matter Mr. Hannan said he 'had informed Mr. Michel that he was so disgusted by the discreditable tactics and cruel slanders circulated and invented by Reform supporters that he intended to vote and work for Mr. Webb, whose party had fought cleanly and without recourse to such dastardly acts. ! Mr. Hannan hoped that his supporters, quite apart from the desirability of supporting a man in opposition to the Reform Government, would vote for Mr. Webb to show their

resentment of the unfair tactics adoptedthose not only relating to his personal character, but dragging in his religion as well.' . ';

That the religious question had been imported into the contestwith a view to prejudicing the Catholic candidate frankly admitted, not only by the Grey press, but by impartial outside witnesses. Thus the special correspondent at Greymouth of the Wellington Evening Post says: ' The sectarian issue has been discussed in every street group from every conceivable point of view. The Grey Star, which supported Mr. Hannan, says that the position is "almost mainly due" to the introduction of the wretched sectarian question. . . . An impartial observer could not have failed to be impressed with the amount of sectarian bitterness existing. And the Greymouth correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, a Government paper, thus describes the present condition of affairs in the electorate—which condition is merely the outcome and after-math of what took place before the first ballot. ' The demon of bigotry holds unchallenged sway in the Grey electorate at the present time. Not only has it disputed (? divided) parties, but it has severed friendships of lifelong standing. It is everywhere. discernible. It is talked of -in the streets at every corner. It is heard in the shop and in the mine. Never before has religious feeling been raised to such a pitch in this district. Already the public is highly inflamed, and the speeches now. being made in anticipation of the second ballot tend to intensify rather than diminish the deplorable outburst. It was at first thought that matters would cool down by Thursday, but the indications point to the reverse being the case. Every hour the bitterness is increasing, and sectarian division is becoming more and more painfully evident.' •• * Such a state of things stands for the utter degradation of politics; and the individuals or party primarily responsible deserve the execration of all decent citizens. Sooner or later such tactics are certain to recoil upon the candidate who employs them, or who fails to condemn them and to dissociate himself from them when they are being employed by his supporters. In the case of Mr. Michel, it looks as if Nemesis would overtake him very early. Moreover, the taint attaching to this election is morally certain to follow him into future contests; and the mistake made by his Grey supporters is likely to cost him dear. At the last two general elections he contested the Westland seat; and it is said that he received a not inconsiderable measure of support from the Cathob'c voters in that constituency. It remains to be seen how it will fare with him when he again submits himself as a candidate for their suffrages.