THE LATE “COUNTY” MEETING.

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 122, 20 June 1868, Page 4

THE LATE “COUNTY” MEETING.

To the Editor of the Marlborough Express. .. V..' -■ Sib,— On the sth of this month the public of Picton were called together in the old Council Hall, to hear what'great things had been done by some-six gentlemen, who wish to save the town —nay, the country—from irretrievable ruin, by, I suppose, eventually placing themselves in office, through the assistance of the “ sovereign” mob. After a few words from the Chairman, and the reading of a document, praying the General, Assembly to form this part of the pro* vince into a County, ( Mr. Godfrey rose, and in one of his able speeches, managed to bring the meetingl into a proper state for discussing the propriety of accepting the measure, when Mr. Marks addressed the meeting at some length, objecting to; the clandestine movements of the committjee, and stated they had not acted courteously jin. not previously conferring with the electors; upon the subject. This, of course.

roused the ire of .Mr. Godfrey, who went to show that what they had done was in every respect a coup d'etat ; with this, some of the minor politicians broke silence, and at it they went. The. first one (to the best of your correspondent’s recollection) was the irate Italian, whose ideas gn passant go for very, little, and would soon have been coughed down,, had it. not been that-on this occasion he chose the. popular side, the mob probably thinking—and wisely so—that every little helped after having made several attempts to rise. At last, finding himself on his feet, to the great delight of the audience, assisted at times by that pearl of “ Great .Prick,’.’.-who it will be remembered used such.vile language towards his Honor the Superintendent, and, afterwards accompanied Captain . Mellish ..through to Blenheim. Another auxiliary then appeared at the back, in the person of Mr. J. Merrington, whoto make their language sound still more unintelligible, clapped .his hands nearly.the whole time. Towards the end of this discordant noise, Mr Bart, whose words were as pointed as arrows, made some allusion to the din ; and in his endeavour to decrease it* proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, who had kept the meeting so orderly and quiet. This of course only had the contrary effect, but the meeting at length calmed down, the more quietly-disposed going to their homes, while those who have the good of their adopted country at heart, remained in little parties outside the Hall and about the streets, one in each case being the chief speaker ; but you must know all endeavoured to say something, for each one’s mind was big with the mighty subject which had been set before him that evening. While returning’home I fell musing at what I had seen, for there was no chance of any man thinking while in the presence of these heated patriots, I could not help exclaiming this is the scene we have when the electors of Pictdn meet—these are the men who shall decide what will be done for the country—who decide in the choice of representatives—who virtually have the ruling of all political matters. This, said I, is a democracy with a 'Vengeance. Why it would he better to. rely upon chance, or even fate, for the administration' of public affairs, than to trust to the discretionary authority of an infuriated and ignorant rabble ; the wildest nonsense, the most eccentric aberrations of CEdipus, thought I, have this evening been outrivalled by the sovereign electors of Picton. * * *—Yours, &c, . A Picton Resident. Picton, June 10th, 1868.