MR LARNACH IN EVIDENCE:

At the official declaration of the poll in connection with the Tuapeka election, which took place at the Lawrence Courthouse yeiterday, the returning officer announced that Mr Larnach's majority was 21, the figures beiDg— > Larnach, 1589 ; Rawlins, 1568. He accordingly declared Mr Larnach duly elected. In thanking the electors (about 30 being preient) Air Laraach said the majority was certainly not a large one, which was to be attributed chiefly to the fact that he had been unable to visit all tho centres in the electorate prior to the polling day. If the election had to be fought over again, and he was afforded an opportunity of visiting and speaking at all the centres, he felt assured he would ba returned by a very large majority.— (Cheers.) His opponent, he declared, had resorted to various kinds of practices to secure votes, and had laid all manner of things against the Government, which had been allowed to paes unchallenged simply because he (the speaker) had not the time at his disposal to brand them as they deserved to be. Wherever he (Mr Larnach) had spoken, however, he had held his own, showing clearly that when the people had the opportunity of hearing the truth they disbelieved and discredited his opponent's utterances. There was another matter to which he desired to (sraw attention. As they all knew, the Tuapeka Times, under its former proprietary, bad been been an Opposition newspaper ; under its present company proprietary it was presumed to be a Government newspaper. Bnt what did they nod in that day's issue? In an article headed "The Premier's Pickings" they would find some of the most infamous lies which had yet been written about the Premier. It was false that the Premier drew £200 for house allowance, because he lived in one of the Ministerial residences, and, therefore, no allowance was required. Nor did he draw £600 a year as travelling allowance ; half that amount was nearer the truth. The statement that he got £500 a year from the Assets Realisation Board was an unmitigated lie, for he only drew £250 a year. And in the colony's interests' it was only right and proper that the Premier should have a seat on the board. Again, the statement that Mr Seddon received £1500 a year from the Aoglo■~S-.^^? w vM±ning ( Syndicate was asgrfeata'lie as ever was p6nnea_~-MT'LarDach then proceeded to denotmceTthe writer of the .article, and in doing go used very strobg language. He then devoted his attention to his opponent, whom be stigmatised as a political mountebank, and concluded by again thanking the electors for returning him. Three chaers wero then called for Mr and Mr.3 Laraach and the Government, ~^ter which tlae proceeding terminated.