THE MAYORAL ELECTIONS.

CHRISTCHURCH. The official declaration of the result of the polling for the election of Mayor of Christchurch for 1882, took place at noon today at the City Council Chamber?. A considerable crowd of persons was gathered around tho buildiDg shortly before tho appointed hour. Immediately afier noon, the Returning Officer, Mr G. L Lee came to tho door of the Town Clerk's office, and, mounting a chair, which did duty us a temporary platform, announced tho result of iho election as follows : For J. Q. Ruddenklau ... 594 For C. li. Taylor ... 565 Majority for Ruddenklau 29 Ho therefore declared Mr John Georgo Ruddenklau duly elected Mayor of Christchurch for the ensuing year. (Cheerp) Mr Ruddenklau, «ho was recoived with considerable cheering, said ho wished it was in his powtr to find suitable language to thank them for tho great honour they had conferred upon him, in electing him to the high offico of Mayor of thia important city, flo felt thoy had placed hini under a great obligation to them, which ho would endoavour to respect and fulfil, and although tho ballotbox had not given him tho satisfaction of boing returned by a very largo majority, still he felt that he had a larger majority of tho citizons who wished him Buccess during his term of offico. During canvassing ho had met with several old frienda, who would have given him their support if ho hud beon earlier in tho field, and thoy had not pledged themselves to Mr Taylor. He respected Ihcir sense of honour, and equally respected the opinions of thoso who had voted against him j and now that tho contost was over ho hoped they would all givo him thoir good wishes for his coming year of office. (Applause.) All must confess that tho election had been conducted throughout with tho utmost good feeling, and respect of ono party fer tho other. Ho again thanked thoao that voted for him ; and ho could not forget the ladies, of whom ho had been so much afraid, but who had evidently takon pity on him and como forward splendidly in his support. (Chetrs; Mr C. B. Taylor, on coming forward, was

received with applause, flo said thct although defeated he had the satisfaction of knowing that he had been. engaged in a. sontest which l.ad b,<Mi cjnducLod wiih tbo greatest respect ard harmony of any tha'a had been held in Christchurcjh. It waa a contest in which for. these *ea-ons he had felt, proud . to ba engaged. He wus not going to | promise, aa saany defeated candidates diJ, that, he wsuld come forward again ou the next oopsßiunity that offered, but ho would sty. that ho should always feel it his duty to. further the interests of the citizens, of. CJirktchurch by whatever means lay in hia. power. He had spoken of the harmony. with- wliich the contest had been conducted, but there was one little matter which he was. extremely sorry to have to refer to, and- which was the only thing he regretted had occurred. Ho referred to an " affair." that appeared on the evening previous to the election. He wished to state distinctly that he had bad nothing whatever to do with tho production (Cheers) ; possibly it had been written by some friend with the intention o£ doiag him good at the election, but he could assure them it had done him a great deal of harm. He thanked those who had voted for him, and especially the gentlemen who had endeavoured to Becure his election, flo could assure them that he felt more disappointment on behalf of those who had worked for him than ho did for himself, for he bad the satisfaction of knowing that he had sscaped from a year of hard toil and responsibility, which he had made up hia mind fo;« if elected. He wished his friend Mr Ruddenklau every possible succeaß during hia term of office, and he hoped that tbe citizena would help Mr Ruddenklau to make it a most succeasful and pleasant year. (Cheers.) In conclusion, he again thanked those who had tried to secure hia return fcr the Mayoralty, and he forgave all who bad tried to keep him out. (Cheers.) Mr Ruddenklau proposed a vole of thanks to the Returning-Officer, which was seconded by Mr Taylor, and carried by acclamation and those present dispersed. SYDENHAM. In the Borough of Sydenham there wai no conteßt, as Mr John Joyce, Iho only candidate, was declared elected on the day of nomination. LYTTELTON. This election took place yesterday, but caused yery little excitement in the town, tho proceedings passing off very quietly. One or two vehicles wero engaged in conveying voters to tho polling-booth, but beyond this there was nothing to denote that an eleotion was taking place. The Beturning-Officer I declared the result of the polling shortly after ! soven o'clock as follows : — H. Allwright 177 S. B. Webb 163 Majority for Allwright ... 9 Both candidates briefly addressed a large gathering, and a vote of thanks to the Be-turning-Officer closed the proceedings. KAIAPOI. The annual election of the Mayor of the Borough of Kaiapoi took place yesterday, and caused some little excitement in this otherwise quiet township. On the previous evening a publio meeting was held in the Oddfellows' Hall to hear the candidates give their opinions on matters municipal, and there was a very large attondanco on the occasion, Mr G. H. Blackwell, the present Mayor, being in the chair. The candidates, Messrs Caleb Smith and Richard Moore, both spoko at length on the affairs of the town ; the former advocating a scheme for utilising the reserves of the town for the purpose of enabling them to construct what was bo much required — two substantial bridges of a durable character, on the Bite of the preeent swing bridge, and at the Black atreet crossing, and alao to enablo the concrete channelling to be done. He contended that the time would come when the endowments would be seized and put into one general fund, and he advooated placing such a burden on them in this manner as to make them not worthy of seizure, and at the Bam« ♦!•»» constructing euch useful works as wero likely to be equally useful to this generation and to future ones. He would prefer to see the ordinary expenditure raised by the ordinary means, such as rates, licenses, dog taies, feos, fines, kc, and the revenuo from tho reserves used for the improvement of the town. The streets of the Borough could compare favourably with any town in New Zealand, and there would be no great expense incurred in maintaining them if attended to at tb.g proMr time of yeah He said that he had twic-e been asked to como forward, but should not havo done bo on thi*B occasion if their nresent Mayor (Mr Blackwell) would have retained the office. As that gentleman had positively declined to stand for re-election, he would place himself in the hands of tho ratepayers. Mr R. Moore also spoke at length, referring to his long term of office as a Councillor, and saying that he had not solicited a voto froai anyone, but if they wished for his services in the capacity of Mayor ho should be found as willing to discharge the duties of that offico as ho had thoso which ho had previously filled. Tho meeting became lively aftor thia. Beveral questions were asked and somo fun was indulged in, after which a vote of thanks was passed to tho candidate and Mayor, and the proceedings terminated. Tho olection took place yesterday, and at 6.15 p.m. Mr 0. E. Dudley, the BeturningOfficer, declared the result of tho poll lo be aB follows: — C.Smith 68 K. Mooro 47 Majority for Mr Smith ... 21 He therefore declared Mr Caleb Bmith olected Mayor for tho ensuing twelve months, amid loud and continued cheering. Mr Smith ascended tho chair, and Baid ho might fairly say the presort was tho proudest moment of hia life, aa, though ho had been in several elections, and had been placed at the head of the poll, he had never been placed ia so important a position. Ho felt tho honour the more owing to tho considerable majority that had beon given him, which showed that it had beon tho wish of the peoplo that ho Bhould be elocted. He was moro surprised when he looked at tho very persistent endeavours on the part of his opponents, and tho fact that " tho professional electioneering tout of Kaiapoi " had been working very hard against him, and it waß a well known fact that that individual had made a boast that "he could not loso any election he took in band." Ho could only say that he was glad that the people of Kaiapoi had managed to give him auch a slap in the face, and he predicted that unless he altered hia taclics it would not bo tho last election ho would loso. Ho concluded by again thanking the burgesses for the honourable position in which thoy had placed him, and hoped that all ill-feeling would bo dropped after tho election excitement was over. Ho had ?aid a good deal tho previoua night about what should bo done, and ho Bhould endeavour to carry out hia viewa, but they must remember that ho waa only one out of ten, and it would not bo hia fault if those ircaßures were not carried out — it would be tho fault of thoso who worked with him. Mr Mooro said ho begged to thank hia friends for tho manner they had worked for him, and for those who had voted for him. When aaked to como forward, bo had determined not to work for a return, aa he thought it was derogatory to tho ofllco of Mayor lo cadgo for vote?, as ho might afterwards bo called upon to sit on tho Bench when those persona were engaged in Court. [Mr Milsom : Do you mean to infer that Mr Smith cadged for votes ?J Well, he had been told that tho other candidate had asked for votes ; but all ho could say was that ho (Mr Moore) had not, and would not do co. It was the iir B t election at which ho had been defeated, but he could take a beating, and ho should beur no illfeoling against anyono ; but if thoy wanted him to come forward again, ho would do so. I A Voice : A hundrod yearß hence] (Liaghter.) A vole of thanks waa then proposed and accorded lo Iho Roturniug-Officer, who in reply complimented tho peoplo of Kaiapoi on the fact that thero had not boon one informal paper put in. The proceedinga then terminated. RANGIORA. There being no one nominated f.ir the ollico of Mayor except Mr J. Johnston, tho Returning-Officer declared that gentleman duly olectoj. WAIMATE. There was considerable excitement in

Waimate over the t!j.Gtkm of Mayor. The result was— M. Sherwin HO A. Hayea 70 Majority for M. Sherwin ... 40 REVIEWS. ~+. THE SOUIHERN PfiOVINOES ALMANAC. Such a mea&ure of success has in former years been achiaved by the leading Almanac of tbia Colony, that its continued excellence cornea to bo taken as a matter of COUrBOWhatever reaßonable degree of anticipation may be formed, the fulfilment will, oa the present ccsasion, be an ample onc r Tho compilers havo given abundant proof thafc they are imbued with the spirit of progress, by the introduction of many new features. Individually these points of detail may appear of .-small moment ; but their aggregation affords, a very mine of information, and that of a character which embodies much that ia valuable for all- classea of the community. We observe that the ever r welcome Garden Calendar has. been supplemented by a Beekeepers' Calendar, concise, but comprehensive and reliable ; ; having upon it thi impress of a practised hand. A Bacing Calendar ; a Stockbroedora' Guide ; very complete postal, telegraphic,, apd, railway communication ; statietica in connection with agriculture and varioua other, subjects,— these are some of the things which render the .Southern Provinces Almanac a universal yearbook of reference. Nor will tho long list of wrecked steamers and missing veaae-ls be without widespread interest ; many memories will be awakened by it, and by the details incorporated. Tho add ad attraction in the now issue is an admirable lithegraphio print, from an original drawing on stone, of Christchurch Cathedral, a building, which has been fittingly referred to as one of the moat graceful creations of a gifted arohiteot. The drawing is an. artistic one, and there can be little doubt that tlio picture will be eagerly sought after, especially as an excellent means for conveying to distant friends an adequate idea of our chief architectural feature. Wo heartily commend to the notice of our readers the Southern Provinces Almanac for 1883. THE PRKSS ALMANAC. Thia useful shilling publication ha 9 been published. Tho 1882 edilion maintains the standard of former years ; a fair amount of general information beiDg embodied. TOMBS'S ALMANAC. This ia a capital littlo book for its pricj, which is only sixpence. It has beon nicely arranged, and its neatness is a credit to the publishing firm.