THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28,1897.

Grey River Argus, Volume LVII, Issue 9859, 23 December 1897, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28,1897.

M& Seddon will not allow a march to be Bto'eh on hlm'lf he can help hlmtelf, and he Is seldom found deficient in that res» pecfc. He is ever on the alert to give a Rowland for an Oliver. A short time ago a banquet waa given at Carterton to Mr Buchanan, the memder 'for Wairarapa, by his personal f deads and sapporters, The occasion was made ( o aerve a double parpoae. The ostensible object was a tribute of respect to Mr B lohauan from his o?Dstitaen(j3 aad a mark of oonfidenoe ia him as the representative of the dlstrlat. He Is a runholder and the district is essentially bucolic. Bat the occasion was also availed of as a Betnlpolltioal demonstration. The. leader of the Opposition and a large ontlngant of the party attended. As might ba ex* peoted, the air was redolent of politics and a political broadside was poured into the Mlnhiry. It did not occur to us that tVere was anything ia it that was overwhelmingly damaging lo Mr Seddon an i his colleagues. Nor, if we desire to be candid, was the counter demonstration much more destructive to the Oppoaition. The deliverances on either aide did not rise above the ordinary slangwhanglng of the common order. However, such as It was, Mr Seddon was Dot to ba deprived of hta rejoinder A banqaeb was organised at Carterton to hear what the Premier and his followers had to say in defence of the -policy of the Government, which had been attacked by Captain Russell and the leading Oppositionists a fortnight previously in the 3am? hall. It is carious, in this connection to note, that between 600 and 700 persons assembled at the Agricultural Hall, a greater number, we believe, than was present at the banquet to Mr Bu» ohanan. How many were present out of mere curiosity •* to see the show," ari3 how many out of the sympathy begotten of political conviction we leave to the residents of the locality to decide. In any cane we attach but little importance to such dem nstiratlons. They are merely the fireworks of party organisation, and muat be valued aooordlngly. The lion's share of the speaking fell to the leader of the Liberal party, and we may be certain that he left vety little unsaid that could bo advanced in defence of the party and the poll y it has pursued since Mr Seddon became Premier. After a little preparatory persiflage, he flang a ooippliment to his audience which evoked hearty cheers, tnough there was little in what) he Bald. He said that he was one of those men who was not afraid to meet the people face to faoe, and he did not care in what part cf the world his public character was traduced or the policy of the Liberal Party assailed, he would meet the people face to face, and send back to those] who had calumniated them the charges whioh had been made, and to prove that there waa not the slightest foundation for them. There was really no calumniation about the matter. The people of the co'ony have certainly not been calumniated. The only point in dispute, and the on'y pretext the Opposition have for attacking the Ministry, is regarding their administration, and whether a change i 3 not needed, in that respect at least. The Poverament mast get all che credit they deserve for the beneficial meißurea they have introduced ; but there are many features of their bdmlnlstratiou that have evoked a wide diversity of opinion. It is only fair to suppose that the Left Wing did not sever themselves from the original party through pure whimsicality or a desire for office. It Is also a patent fact that othera would have followed their example but for the consuming dread that if they did - anything to weaken the Ministry it would lead to their superceesion by b so»ctlled Conservative Glove nm nt ; and sooner than do anything calculated to preoipitate ao dreadful a result in their eye?, the rank and file of the party are prepared to swallow any proposal that emanates from the Govern* ment Benches. Thh is the present position of the Liberal Party in ihe House, and 's not a very assuring on,e as to its s abili'y and permanence. There was a no*e of keen pain in Mr Seddon's refer" ence to the remarks of the Opposition members regarding his bill of expenses agaiusb the colony in connection with his trip Home and to Tasmania. But all that w*3 required waa some sort of a etatement of his expenses, which was only a business deiaU, and in no way dercg** tory to the Profiler. It ought to have been furnished in the ordinary coarse. After the facts were elicited no further hostile word fell from the Opposition. If the Premier's expenses were not limited before he went Home It waa because he objected to such a course. It ia to be regretted that any disodßsion took place on so trivial a question. But In refer/Ing to the Buchanan banquet, Mr Seddon was not withoat consolation. He Bald that if the speeches delivered oa that oooaslon had any In" flaence it waa thla : '• That the language was to extreme, instead of doing whac was intended, it had the reverse effect, and hundreds of men who difbred in politics fro^n him came to him andsyncpa thißed with him in the charges levelled agalnat him." He ridiculed the statement) by Captain Russell that if the Oppositionists were to succeed In diplomacy the Ministry must put the hands ia their pookets, and characterised the proa. posßl as simple bribery and corruption, i

The Premier, however, passed over the 1 part of the assertion, that the , members of the Ministry had the advan* tage in getting the country to pay all their electioneering campaign expenses, This rock was jadciously given a wide berth to. We are entirely with Mr Seddon In regard to the the Old Age Pensions when he said In regard to the r^jeodon of the measure by the Legislative Ooanoll ;— " Take a bill that, was very much wanted In this country, the Old Age Pensions. He asked if those who h«d been 20 yaars in this oduntry, and had tolled and worked, and contributed to the revenue oE the country, were to be thrown aside as worthless In their old agi ? The oppo* nents of old age pensions s.ild that the reau'fc would be that no one would atrnggle cr be thrifty, or make provision for old age If we had a provision of this kind. Anyone making a statement of this kind was mistaken in the people. There waa not a man or woman present who would throw away thrift and miaa opportunities for the sake of an old age pension. He said thete were thousands of people in the colony under present conditions — social and political — who would never be able to provide for old age, and he said when they were deserving colonists, they had paid quite enough to the colony for the State to step In and say, * We will not have the poorhouse and the workhoose ; we will not degrade onr aged poor. Let us be the first English speaking Parliament that has ca-rled an Old Age Pension scheme, Imperfect as it may be, being the 6 rat time it has been tried,' bat which woald give the relief he had spoken of." Bat in respect to tin Prow and the Press Association we disagree entirely with his strictures. He would flitter the Press as he fUttera the peoplo (as If the majority was Invariably right and represented all the wisdom of (he world) if they were unanimous in endorsing all his eaylng3 and doing*' That they do not do so should rather be a reason wliy he Bhoald review his methods of political prcoedare in order to discover whether the criticism under which he chafes so much is not too often deserved, ! And as re girds tha work of the Press As- ; soolation he is evidently biassed to an extent that is surprising in a person of hia sturdy common sonse. Before Mr Stratford, S M, yesterday > \Lv Brimble was fined L 5 and costs for allowing drunkenuoaa on his premises. To day a special train leareß for Jack* eon at 9 45 a m connecting with the coach at Springfield. The new pictorial post cards are now 1 for sale in limited quantities at the Post ; Office. On 'Xmas Eve P»rker and Gilkes In- , tend to give a large display In their shop, at the corner of Hospital- and Herbert I streets, of nicely dressed meat. They [ have secured a large consignment of L lambs,. and every order cm be supplied by , them.- They have also a lot of dairy fed : pork on hand. Their small goods are of I all variety, and no doabt will please the t purchasing public. We advise our readers , to give this Bhop a oall, and they wi 1 be t supplied with first-olasa meat. An ad- . vectisement appears elsewhere. The return from the Big River is • 2630z3 Bdwt of gold from 270 tons stone • (clean up). i" • " Teens" the new Australian book by ' Louise Mack (Mrs J Percy Greed) has J juat been reo jived from Melbourne by 1 MB Urquhart of the Novelties Depot. b Upper Mawhera Quay. It is a publicai tlon very Buitable for presentation to ' girls, and was reviewed by U3 in these 3 columns a week or two ago. 1 Mr Roche, Upper Mawhera Q jay, has ' a fine assortment of toys and fancy goods } sultabla for presents to young and old t daring the festive season. , We are p'eased to ace that the Town [ Band do not Intend to let the old custom s of playing oarols on Christmas morning > fall through. A new idea will be adopted j this year. Instead of making the t house to house visit, the band will take up a stand on the hill l at an early hovtt on Chrlatmaa , morning and play a programme of oarols , and otcier appropriate music, We hive : not the slightest doubt that the idea will . be greatly appreciated by tha. towns- . people. Jhe band we understand, are i aad yln need of farms, several new in* t strutnenfca are required for the contest which will be held here in May, and the bandmaster or secretary will be pleased to receive donations in aid of the fund. We would take this opportunity of suggesting that tha band, besides playing ou the hill on Christmas morning, Bhould ,on aome other day during the holiday?, say Sunday afternoon, play a programme at tha flagstaff, and place a collection box on the bridge, We are sure that a great portion of the pnblic would be only too pleabed to help the band, and assist them in keeping up their reputation as the champion band on the West Coast. Tha Sb John Hayman Dramatic Company commence their abort season iv Greymouth on Thursday evening next at the Public Hall, opening with the " Trail of the Serpent." This la Baid to ba a very fine p!tCB, abounding with sensation, while the comedy is very good. Mrs Mrshall has a very fine part as Alice Hawthorne. Mr Irve Hayman appears as Old Davey Hawthorne, end Mr Bert Bailey as George Hawthorne. Judging from the satisfaction given by "he Company on their last visit, crowded houses should greet them. The plan for reserved seats is now open at Mr Perkins's. The L^bor Journal for December gives the following as to the state of the labor market on the Weal; Coast. Brunnem ton— Retail trale : Bathes dull. The Coal Company is working only two or three days per week. Hokitika — Retail trade : Fairly good business done. Unskilled labor : Only one applioaut for employment. Greymouth— Retail trade : Fairly busy. Unskilled labor : No men applying for employment at present, aa several have been sent to work daring the month. JTxporbs daring NovemberTimber, 543,734 ft j sleepers, 2,697 ; coal, 5,828 tons. It is very doubtful (says the Guardian) whethor the fine block of buildings which stood in Revell street on Friday last will be re-built. The finest building in the block, indeed in Hokitika, was ;that of Mr Linnemann, the original coat of which was about L4OOO. Mr Schroder's premises were also large and could not be replaced for a considerable sumi The Quardian office

had been newly erected about 18 months ago, as had the shop of Mr Arthur, while Mr Cahill's premises had just been overhauled and repainted. The total loss by the fire is from LI 0,000 to L 12,000. It is" understood that Mr King will build immediately. Mr Dawes, who owned Mr Arthur's shop, will put up new premises for his old tenant, rough ptans t for these premises and the Guardian office having already been prepared, and the work of erection will probably be started next week. Mr Arthur's shop will be somewhat larger than the old one, but the Guardian office will be considerably smaller. Mr 0. Evans does not intend torebuild at present, and it is doubtful ' whether Messrs Linnemann and Schroder will build again. For the present Messrs King, Arthur and Evans have established themselves mother premises in Revell street, while Mr Schroder has taken up his abode at the firm's clothing establishment further up the 'street. On Christmas Day and New Year's day the hours of attendance at Telegraph Offices in the' colony whicbVare open to the public on Sunday will be— 9 a.m; to 10 a.m. and 7. p.m. to 8 p.m. Other Telegraph Offices will be closed. On Boxing Day, the 27th December, all Telegraph Offices will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., and -those which are usually open to the public bn Sunday will reopen' from 7' p. in to 8 p.m. The mid-night dabie attendance will not be disturbed, and the. Telephone' Exchange will be open continuously. Mbs Hail, Talritii street, haa a splendid assortment of toye, fanoy goods, crockery ware, ;;&c, abher . Bhow rooms, which she Is selling at exceptionally cheap rates. — Adyt. •* Chateau Tanunda"' brand Delicious Adelaide Clare*, &o. Walker's Whisky Look for gold oapsule. Queen's Ale - ; Brightest and beßt Imported. Ehctbarb -Giant Rhubarb to be obtained from Grippen and Smith's stores, Jilawhera Qaay and Boundary street.— -Adyt, Who haß 'tlie most Btylish and most fashionable millinery ? Tymoks & Co, and certainly, at the lowest rates, every one is invited toinspect their goods; —Advt. Do you want a nice new pattern, Twred Suits ? tben go to Tymons & Go, they select only the most dnrable all wool tweeds for their ready mads clothing, yon can be well fitted for 253 upwards and theßoy's clothing cannot be beaten in fit and price. Remember Ttmons & Co, Greymouth.— Advt. Good News, a want supplied, — Tym<>ns & Co, have Ladies Tan Lisle Gloves at 61 per p ilr useful for Cycling, Ladies Tan Sw«de G:ovesin Back Tan and White, at 2 } lid at Tymons &Co, Greymoath.— Advt.