Political Notes.

Hastings Standard, Issue 164, 5 November 1896, Page 3

Political Notes.

There se- wi.-t to l.im to be l hive k'nds of Liberals. The great Liberal power at the present time \vi- Seddonism, cou-i-Pr::.' of those who implicit}" followed Mr Soddon, and did exactly what be toll the 11. Then there were the Impendent Lib-ral-thejr were th-- w..r- class of Lb. nU possible, keau-t \ou iu\«.r Knew where they were. They w.> .Id t>« the downfall of the present Gott rmn> nt. The third class of LiberaL coi.?i.-:<. I of the real of which he was one. The country wanted straight running on the port of its public men. It was nonsense to ta'k about Liberalism and Conservatism so Ions? nun did their duty to the State and upheld constitutional governmei t. —Mr W. Rolleston at iticcarton. The Liberal «L 1.- have chosen Mr Q'Meara to repre-t nt their interest in th© Pahiatna con-:itm ncy. Speaking at Rakaia Mr \Va-~ui said if he were elected he would do hi- best to weaken that party spirit which they saw cropping up every day. He did not think that the bulk of the men and women of the colony cared much who was at the head of affair- so long a the administration was tolerable. No measure, he contended, .should be made a party question, bit', should be voted for on its merits. Speaking of intercolonial freetrnde. Mr Joyce (at Lyttelton), said they should regulate their Customs tariff so as to enable reciprocity with Victoria and New South Wales to become an accomplished fact. If this could be done it would result in a great benefit to the colony generally. Referring to the candidature of Mr T. E. Taylor, the Prohibitionist, of Coker Hotel case fame, the Christcbnrch Press asks the following pertinent questions . —'-Do the Christchurcb electors wish to see it made a crime, punishable by iine or imprisonment, for their wivt s or daughters to make a little home-made wine or home-brewed beer ? Do they wish to see not only Working Men's Clubs but their own homes invaded by Government spies, empowered to pry into their inmost privacy to enforce the views of fanatical extremists ? If they do, let them vote for Mr T. E. Taylor, and the other Prohibition candidates. The speaker recently had a good deal to say about the distinction b&ttvr'eo natural and civil liberty and the right of a bare majority to curtail the civil liberty of the rest of the comlotmity. There are some points, however, on which free-born Englishmen will never truckle to the will of the majority. They would never submit to a despotism which sought to enforce upon them a religion in which they did not believe, so long as they could could lilt a baud to tight against their oppressors. Stiil less will they submit to the despotism which would make them all the slaves of an irrational fad, especially as that fad, so far from being synonymous with religion or morality, would open the floodgates to law-break-ing and deceit." We (Ashburton Mail> understand that the Government; regard most of the country years in the Canterbury district, hitherto held by their supporters, as practically safe, except those of Ashburton and Geraldine. Mr Meredith is considered a moral for Ashley, Mr Joyce for Lyttelton. Mr Montgomery for EUesmere, and Mr Saunders for Sehvyn; and it is expected that Mr Russell will just about beat ilt Rolleston for Kiccarton. They fear, however, that Mr Rhodes will defeat Mr Flatman for Geraldine, and that Mr Wright will be returned for Ashburton, while- it is very likely they will lose at least one of the Christchurch seats.