WHO REPRESENTS RODNEY?

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5724, 27 January 1876, Page 3

WHO REPRESENTS RODNEY?

To the l'ditoi • Sir,- -After the tumult and cvutuueiit inci(knt to elections, it is a lclicf to sit (low u ami look thing's calmly in tho f.ifi 1 l'tilups, m no ooiiBtituoucy has the li^ht hcun keener, or the exoitcmcrit greater, than in Kodnuy On Tuesday night might h iv" l>een si'i n some dozen of Albion's and Sc.oli.is luawny ions gathered together, anxi u-ily awaiting the nieasenger with the in w i of the jmali' " Who's won?" was tho ([iiestion e.i^eily asked, as the lon^ looked im person gallopi d up " Moat ! " was the leply; and then bmst foith such a cheer ! "But," said the newsman, a-» soon a=i he

could again obtain a healing, " Sheeh.in'-j in ! Rodney i-> sold • Disfiane-hised ! three fiom the Thames and Auckland took the constituency by assault, and put in a city man ' and 1 amour has it that a man was told off to evciy eight voters, to see and fetch them up to the scratch — cab from the door, passage to all, free, and well treated, too !" But how can Mr. Sheehau be called the representative of Rodney? It is true poisons living in Auckland, and having their l) unes upon the roll, have the privilege of \oting; but is it in accordance with stuet justice that, in a cpiestion between town and country (as the provincial question is), the town should have the power of returning members for town and country also. I would like to know how many of the persons fiom Auckland who \oUd last .Monday had paid the iate-> due cm then land to the various highway bo.uds, and how in my ol them hul a greater stake in the countiy than in the town. Foui hundicd and tlmty poisons voted: of these, three handled and liitythree were 1 esidenta, of whom one hundred and ninety-two voted for Moat, giving him a uiajonty of moie than thnty iiom the boiw Jlilc votei-j resident in the distnet; and, allow me to &ay, John Baileycoin lendeied good assistance to make things as good n-> this. I do not intend to insinuate that some did not vote conscientiously ; but I do much doubt if some of the eleetois ha 1 n f >t dillei eat opinion^, aftji having a glass or two of Whit son s best, and so vote diileiently aKo '1 ln& is the way an appeal is made to the countiy, about which the House hcaid so much last session. Witness the action of the " Centi.il Committee,' and Sir George Grey coming all the way to Mahurangi to propose the candidate that pi omised to suppoit himselt. lie took occasion to assail the present Go\tin ment ; and, without actually stating it m as many w oids, left lnsheareis to mfei th.it Juhut) \ ogcl and puty had boiiowcd about JL'JO, 000, 000, and expended tlie money in enriching the Southern provinces and tliem--.elvc-j. Xow, it puzzled me for sometime why Ge.Jigc did not explain tli.it .it least f:),000,000 ot tins i\ i-, boil owed (uoL b> Sii Juliiii) and e\pv_ulcd mi the w.u to uphold the supiL'naey ot hci M.i|esty the Queen, and causing the destnietion of lite and piopcity, wJncli lecpuuod a vast sum to leplaee ; n.n did lie gi\e us an outline of his iutuie pohc), e\icpt inipiowng theSouthein slieep-iuns and similar linpoitant woiks I wondered why, but failed to find a satistaotoiy reason for his not doing it, till .ii friend said the reason is most obvious • because it did not serve his purpose. But he told u^ that the expenditure ot the loan had enhanced the \ahie of land in the South some thieefold. He also said that there was • veiy piobabihty of an income and piopeity tax being imposed ; and yet he also told us we should have to payashaie of the interest foi money spent down South (how ?). Once moie, retelling to the load board grants, Sir Gooige sud they (the Government) proposed to give us two pounds tor one ; "but," said he, " they take it from you first* they tax you and get the money, and then, so great is their hbeiahty, that they give you back two pounds to further tax yourselves one pound." Xo»v, sir, can Sir George Grey be ignorant of the fact that the out districts do not pay any tlung like the amount of taxation paid by the towns? foi, be it remembered, the Government did not propose to give towns, and districts near towns, tha two pounds for one laised. But Sir George, true to his interests as a town member, sees a great injustice in the tow u being called upon toassist in opening up the countiy ; and because Sir George says it, many believe ic. Thus it is that fluent politicians nuke nuiehandiac of us; and distianchised .Rodney hangs her head, and exclaims, in cadence low, "Sold, by George !" — I am, &c, A LloDAEY Abolitionist. Januaiy 21, 1S7C