The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Thursday, August 25, 1887. SOME OF THE COMBATANTS.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 32, 25 August 1887, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Thursday, August 25, 1887. SOME OF THE COMBATANTS.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country’s. Thy God's, and truth’s.

1 HE political oattie is raging tunously all over the two islands and it is difficult to say what the result will be. Interested critics oft both sides prophesy an easy victoiy for their own parties, but the most sanguine of expectations are often upset on the polling day. On the whole the class of men standing is a good one. There are “blatherskites and cranks,” it is true, here and : there, but they are luckily few and far between.

Let us pass in cursory review some of the leading candidates.

At Dunedin, the Premier is pretty sure to be returned, in spite of hi, opponent being backed by two such influential journals as the Otago Daily Times and the Dunedin Star, Sir Robert Stout's career from the day when he was only an assistant school master at th* North East Valley to his Accession to the Premiership has been a remarkable one, and one of which the Dunedin citisens have reason to be proud. He has all the banks' and loan companies’ interests against him, but with the masses his name is still a potent charm to work with. Hi* success is almost assured.

Mr Larnach is almost certain to be returned. He is a weak man politically speaking, but in his own weak way, tried to do good work as Minister of Mines. Were he unsuccessful, however, he would not be much missed in the House.

At Auckland the fight is severe al! along the line and has been seriously complicated by the active opposition shown by Sir George Grey to the Ministry. The “ Grand Old Man ” is so far unopposed and the Auckland citizens would be ungrateful were they to run a man against one who has been such a generous benefactor to their city. Sir George, with his ever courteous manner, and his effective eloquence, is therefore safe to form one of the new Parliament.

** “ Poor Tole,” as Grey once facetiously termed the member for Newton, is opposed by a comparative new chum in the person of Mr Withy, who seems to be gaining ground. Although by no means a Heaven born genius, Tole did some good work as Minister of Justice, and we should scarcely like to see him ousted. His chance is much aided by the slashing articles now appearing in the Auckland Evening Bell, a journal edited by a man of consummate ability and a strong advocate of the Stout Ministry. The festive Aitken Connell, the “ Old Colonial Hand,” whom some take for a “ crank ” and others for a genius, is working hard for the Eden seat, but will have a very hard nut to crack in the person of Mr Mitchelson, once Minister of Public Works in the Atkinson Ministry, in which office he showed great administrative ability. For the benefit of all it is to be hoped Mr Mitchelson may be successful, for Connell with his fads and his long, wearisome spt eches would be a bore and complete nonentity in the House, were he lucky enough to get in.

Moss, for Parnell, is being strenuously opposed by Seymour Geo rge, whose chie

claim to celebrity when he was in the House last time, was the lazy way he laid down full length on the benches and the assiduous care he bestowed Upon his hirsute adornments. He is a nephew of Sir George, a fact which brings him a certain Z'«,Z?rwith the Auckland Grey worshippers but is not likely to beat an old compaigner like Moss.

In Auckland North the railway reformer, Sammy Vaile, and a labour agitator named Farnall are contestants. Vaile will probably win and will then have an opportunity of enthralling the House with his long-winded orations on railway reform. -

Reader Wood, who for the size of his pedal extremities, is said to beat the N.Z. record, is out for Waiiemata as a Ministerialist, He is well known as one of the famous “ rats,” the “ Auckland four,” and is a grand speaker and a clever politician. He will, however, have a tough job to beat Monk, who astonished even his friends by the ability he showed last session The issue however is a very uncertain one.

For the Coromandel seat an old Gisbornite, James Mackay, the native agent, is giving the Ministerialist Cadman a big run, whilst a daring Individual named Osborne is making what will be certainly a futile effort to beat Sir Maurice O’Rorke at Onehunga.

On the West Coast the wordy war is raging furiously. “ Majah ” Atkinson is being badgered and bullied to a tremendous extent by a smart Irishman named McGuire who is contesting the Egmont seat with the ex-Treasurer. Despite Atkinson’s many faults we should regret to see him beaten by such a frothy, unscrupulous windbag like McGuire, a man, whose career up to the present, as policeman, publican, and brass-lunged local

politician of the lowest stamp, is hardly such as to justify the Egmont electors in returning him in place of a man like Atkinson.

John Bryce is almost safe to get in for Waitotara, there being two Ministerial

candidates out against him ; one a local farmer of the political crank order, and the other a smart Wanganui lawyer named Hutchinson, a son of the People’s William, who was once a popular idol with the Wellingtonians. At Wanganui Ballance is opposed by Carson, the editor of the Wanganui

Chronicle, a clever platform speaker and a shrewd, clear-headed man of consider-

able local popularity. There is no better meaning man in the Colony than the Native Minister, no more courteous and

good hearted a man, but his Native Land Bill has worked wholesale ruin. He has muddled and bungled the whole business of the Native Department, and no one on this Coast will regret to hear of his being defeated. The result at Wanganui will be a very close one.

In;the Rangitikei district a severe contest is prevailing, two Oppositionists, Bruce and Arkwright, being opposed by Stevens, an ex-member of the House and a strong crony of Ballance. Bruce, a young Scotch settler of considerable ability, will have his chances of success considerably lessened by the candidature of -Arkwriuht, a wealthy descendant of the famous inventor of the spinning jenny and an ex-member of the House of Commons for Sodth Derbyshire. ' Stevens has considerable local popularity and is a capital hand at electioneering, He will probably creep in between the other, two,

We had intended to refer to the candidates before the electors in Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, Canterbury, and the South generally, but this article is sufficiently lengthy already. We shall return to the subject on Saturday.