MB. A. B. ATKINSON FOR THE CITY.

Evening Post, Volume LII, Issue 162, 30 November 1896, Page 4

MB. A. B. ATKINSON FOR THE CITY.

Mr. John Duthie did the right thing, and did it with accustomed promptitude, in wiring from Nelson on Saturday the withdrawal of his nomination for the City. His only reason for consent in the first instance was that he might oppose the Premier should he attempt to personally oapture a seat for the constituency. Mr. Duthie having retired, the way is now clear for the great body of electors who are determined to cast their votes against prolongation of the reign of Seddonism, to consider their selection of candidates. We have already given our reasons very fully for our support of Sir Robert Stout and Mr. Menteath as' members for the City, but until the nominations were made, and the names of candidates finally ascertained, we did not feel justified in giving a straight-out support to a third candidate. That we can now do, and have not the slightest hesitation in making our selection. Holding, as we do, that the country needs, above all things at the present time, the Parliamentary service of strong, capable, honest, progressive men, who, while always ready to go forward in the work of political and social reform, can firsjt be relied upon to do their utmost to curb the arbitrary powers that have been usurped by the present Government, we unhesitatingly urge those who share the views of this journal to give their strongest support to Mr. A. R. Atkinson. If the moderate Democrats, who realise that Seddonism has degenerated into a crafty usurpation of personal power that is opposed to the Democratic principle, who realise that the Premier, in his inordinate greed of power, is deliberately setting class against class, that *ais continuance in office can only be sustained by a huge and destructive system of rewards and punishments, —if these will stand firm to the candidature of Mr. Atkinsou, his return will be assured. it is true that he is a Prohibitionist, but he has made an important concession to the moderates on this question by a pledge, and he may be relied on to keep his word, that he will not be » party to • any luch restriction by the vote of Parliament. All he askn is that the voice of the country may be taken in the course of time, and he will abide by the vote of the people. And it must be borne in mind to-day that the whole weight of the liquor interest is being cast for Seddonism, or for the power that it is in. the highest interest of the country should b,e defeated at the polls. And now let us. set down something of the personal history of the gentleman who will, we trust, together with Sir Robert Stout and Mr. Menteath, be returned for Wellington City on Friday next. Mr. Atkinson was born in New Plymouth in 1863. He is thus 33 years old, and his candidature cannot be discountenanced on the ground of extreme youth, for he is two years older than was hisjiucle, Sir Harry Atkinson, on his first entry into the House of Representatives. After some years of work at the Nelson College, at the age of 15 the subject of our notice was sent to EugInnd, and soon»obtained a scholarship which enabled him to spend three years in Clifton College. Dui'ing the last year of this term he was head of the school, and, after winning equal success as a student and an athlete, he entered Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he took his B.A. degree •in due course. The Principal of Clifton College paid a very high tribute to the healthful influence he had exercised in the school. At Oxford he was regarded as a hard and successful student, and also as an advanced Radical. In justification of this latter estimate he flung himself vigorously into a memorable political conflict in 1885, memorable because it was the last electoral conflict in a family borough— the occasion when Lord Randolph Churchill was opposed in his candidature for Woodstock by Mr. Come Grant, a pronounced Radical, and though he was defeated by the powerful influence of the Marborough family, the fight was a stubborn one, and attracted the attention of the whole country. Returning to New Zealand in 1887, he spent three years in Dunedin, made his way to Wellington four years ago, and has since pursued his career here as a solicitor. On his mother's side he is a nephew of the late Mr. Justice Richmond, and he should certainly find no hindrance to his present candidature in the fact of bit relationship to two

men whose fitness to have occupied foremost positions in larger political and judicial spheres respectively than New Zealand presented would be most readily acknowledged by those who knew them best. Mr. A. R. Atkinson will get the votes of many at the present election who do not fully share his political opinions, and of some who more strongly differ from his views as to the benefits that v wou)d accrue from Prohibition. He is regarded as an essentially honest man, and honesty is, beyond all things, the chief requisite in politicians, especially at the present juncture. He is known to be a widely read and sagacious man, who has made good ' use of exceptional abilities, and he has given full proof that he possesses abundance of courage and determination. Ou the whole, if he should be elected, he would doubtless make a straightforward, trustworthy, and capable member, while, if rejected, h© has said he will seek to serve his fellow • citizens in more humble capacities.