ELECTION GOSSIP.

Evening Star, Issue 7236, 11 June 1887, Page 2

ELECTION GOSSIP.

Mr W. Carneross will contest the Taieri scat. There is some talk of Mr C. R. Chapman again offering himsolf for Dunedin Central. Our Wellington correspondent wires:— "Mr Ross has requested me to mention that, as some doubts exist as to his future intentions, he will contest Boslyn against all comers." Sir George Grey intends to begin his election tour forthwith. He will first speak at Auckland, and address meetings in all the large cities, finishing as Invercargill.

NOTES. _. » Tim little Bill of Ministers for their recessional jauntings was laid before ! Ministerial the House yesterday. It is a Economies, very pretty piece of commentary on the economical professions so largely paraded and loudly vaunted by the Stout-Vogel Ministry. The total s,ums up to L 3.478 18s sd. For the details we refer our readero to another column. The figures, it must be admitted, betray an anxious desire on tho part of Ministers to be scrupulously correot. Two items show a ohftrge of one penny eaqh, and two others have elevonpenoe fixed as the maxij i mum of Ministerial scrupulosity, and the odd pennies balance the uneven elevenpence, Mr Larnaoh heads the list with LB92 1 the Premlei and Minister of Lands, with friendly union, have L 690 each'} the Colonial Secretary pockets L 357 and the Minister of Public Works L 355. After these items the Treasurer's claim for £248 seems small—comparatively, that is to Bay: and when we come to the modest L9l to the Minister of Economy (the Hon. William Hunter Reynolds) we are almost in amazement at his moderation. Altogether this Ministry, who were to have been stern and uncompromising in the matter of further public expenditure, are the most extravagant and expensive Government that ever held sway in New Zealand, and they seem to glory in their recklessness. Only give them money to spend and ask no questions, and. they will be quite satisfied, though the people may not be. Yet the thing goes on, and the House seems unable to stop or stay the reckless profligacy of the most pronounced extravagant set of men who ever misruled a country.

The closing scenes in the House appear to have been melodramat cand exSeencs That t raV agant. The Government, nearest. as "sual, were divided against themselves. The Treasurer contended with his colleagues, and the colleagues contended with their Treasurer; the Native Minister, apparently, got sulky, and, in a pet, refused to go on with his Bill about the West Coast Native Reserves. Who shall agree when doctors disagree? The Leader of the Opposition came to the rescue, however, and in some unexplained way the Bill got through the House after two days' hard fighting, only to be contemptuously rejected in the Council next day. Into the merits or demerits of the Bill itself, it is not now necessary to enter, seeing that it has been consigned to oblivion; but it may be permitted to us to state that it was a measure designed to relieve lessees holding land under Native owners, and it was very fairly urged by several hon. members that if the principle of reducing the lease rents was right in respect to Native lands, it was equally applicable to Crown lands held under the Wew Zealand Government. This view of the case, however, does noo commend itself to Ministers, who were quite prepared to shed the last drop of their Maori brother's blood, but not one tiny little drop of their own, in the cause of population, or rather in the cause of popularity. Major Atkinson was, of course, very anxious to help the Government, because if the Bill had been carried he would have greatly pleased and benefited a large body of his constituents at the expense of the Maori owners. However, the plot has failed, and for once at least justice has been done to our Maori brethren.

The last act of the session is concluded. The curtain has fallen, and The Minis- hon. members of the House of tcrial Dinner. Representatives are dismissed to their several constituencies. It has hot been ail gall and wormwood to the Ministry, for before they parted—nlany of them to meet no more as members of the House—they held a feast in which they indulged in a bit of symbolic cannibalism, having named (we had almost inadvertently said christened) their choice viands after the names of their leading opponents. One can imagine with what gusto Sir Julius wduld swallow '• croquette d''Atkinson an diable." It might not be much to Sir Julius's taste, but it would be so pleasant to eat him up and have done with him, and get him out of sight. The whole affair was very witty, very petty, very personal, and Very contemptible. Evidently the savage is not "yet dismissed from our civilised souls. The worship of Woden lingers still within us, for though the happiness of the Ministerial heaven does not consist in diinking the blood of their enemies out of skull-made drinking cups, the annihilation of the dainties bearing the names of Opposition members, with curses added, would form the occasion of many a joke, that, pleasant as it might be to listen to and laugh at, would reveal the rankling of the spirit within. To meet and er.joy themselves was laudable enough, but to make a social gathering the means of insulting their opponents was not worthy of gentlemen who claim to be political leaders.

The election campaign has commenced hi earnest, although the boundaries The Coining 0I the electoral districts are not Election, yet defined, nor can any oneyet say to a month when the elections will take place. Mr Thomas Dick has intimated his intention to contest Dunedin West, ancl there will be a tough fight between him and Mr W. D. Stewart. The sooner those gentlemen declare their intentions, and the principles on which they seek support, the better for their chances of not having a third candidate to contend with. Mr Hutchison, who woos the suffrages of the electors of Roslyn, has given his opinions such wide-spread notoriety by advocating the platforn of the Protection League, that no one can mistake his present views on that burning question. .Already he has an opponent in Mr Carlton, who is new to the political world, although he is well known for his straightforwardness as a contractor and employer of labor. Mr Ross has done useful work for Dunedin and its harbor, and of necessity for Roslyn, for what benefits the City must equally do good to its suburbs. It remains to be seen whether the electors are willing to part with their old love, should he again ask their suffrages. Of course in politics such a sentiment as gratitude is out of the running. It is not unlikely that a fourth candidate may come forward. Rumor has it that a new and eligible candidate will come forward for Dunedin East. Such a consummation as his success is devoutly to be wished for. Mr Fulton will again have to encounter the opposition of Mr Carncross, of the ' Taieri Advocate,' who at the last general election made such a bold fight of it, seeing that it was his maiden appearance on the political stage.

When men have made up their minds to show their independence, it is The Uuh amazing what airs they can give Squabble, themselves. We hear of Indian braves adorning themselves with paint and feathers, ancl strutting about as proud as peacocks, to. the admiration of all the squaws and little piccaninnies ancl themselves. Just in this spirit the City Councillors, who determined to let the residents of Dunedin know how capable they were of arriving afc an independent judgment on the Gas Engineer's conduct, comported themselves. In their speeches they resented all reasonable advice, and in effect asked: " Are we not City Councillors ? Who shall dare to say we are not capable of judging of the matter? What care we for the Star, or the people, or for justice ? We have made up our minds—the case is'trivial.'" And, expecting everybody to admire their independence, they dismissed the matter with : " If you quarrel again you must all go." Now this is very offhand, but very unsatisfactory, and it is to be hoped that, as the ratepayers have indepedent spirits as well as the clique of councillors, they will give practical effect to their opinions by sending every member of it into private life as opportunity occurs—a seclusion from which they never shouldhave emerged. How long are the affairs of the City to he controlled by men like these ? Cr Carroll has a very sensible notice of motion on the notice paper recommending that the functions of the separate departments should be strictly defined. It will be a sign of some little improvement, now that their vanity is gratified, if the majority of councillors support it.