OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 278, 20 November 1905, Page 1

OUR WELLINGTON LETTER.

[from our correspondent.]

WELLINGTON, Nov. 1G

The street is in mourning for the loss of the La Bella and the brave follows who were washed off during that terrible time on the AVarnambool reef. | You see that we had a great regard for the good little barque. Some months ago all Wellington turned out to see the ship lying on the beach off the mouth of Happy Valley, where she had been cast up by a sort of marine miracle, which sent her through miles of reefs safe and sound, in spite of a tigerish hurricane, on to the only soft spot on the beach for many miles. Day after day we used to go down and have a look at the riggers getting her ready for the launching. Amongst those we used to note the form of Jack Hutchison, recently member for the city and author of the much discussed " marine scandal." Jack won all the hearts on that occasion—he was in charge of the rigger—by doing everything on board ship-shape Bristol fashion, and looking every minute of the time every inch a sailor, frank, bluff, abrupt and breezy. La Bella in due course reached the wharf, where thousands admired her pretty proportions, got fixed up, and went into business again brisk and jaunty as ever. It is melancholy to think that her second lease of life should have been so short. The sad story of her fate is warmed by the noble feat of the fisherman Ferrier, who showed the lifeboat people the way. The street is of the opinion that if Ferrier had been in charge of the lifeboat the whole twelve of the crew would have been saved in place of the five who, but for him and the dingey, would have been swept away to the horrors of Davy Jones's Locker with their ill-fated comrades.

Already there are people rash enough to prick the card for the coming elections. In fact they began the practice last week when they pronounced five seats, and five alone, throughout the colony to be doubtful. These were the seats of Messrs Taylor, Fisher Herdman, Bedford, and Barber. This week they have advanced their number exactly one hundred per cent., staking their bottom dollar now on not less than ten doubtfuls. These are Messrs Barber, Bedford, Duthie, Fisher, Guinness, Herdman, Major, Mander, Millar, Wood. Besides these they enumerate two seats —Clutha and Auckland, vacated by Messrs Thompson and Witheford—as among the doubtfuls. The last was palpably the best of all their guesses. If this pricking stands good, then there are in jeopardy ten seats, of which five are Government and five Opposition of all kinds. The card pricker who is rash enough to venture where the angels of election fear to tread, evidently is not disturbed about the fate of the Government. # Taking the figures as they stand there, it is clear that they cannot be depended upon too much. For example, however correct^ it may have been a week ago to tick off the Taylor chance as bad, it is now regarded as sure, as I learn from a Christchurch correspondent that Taylor recovered all the ground he lost, and some thing more since he got back and took up the work of electioneering in dead earnest after his deadly manner. In fact, a very good boy for a little tea party is this Mr Gray, the Blue Ribbon Mayor of the City of the Plains, but not good enough to extend the redoubtable champion who has time to travel about unsettling many neighboring electorates. It has since transpired, too. that Mr Herdman is fairly safe. Of Mr Duthie, moreover, if he is to be beaten by Charlie Izard it will be time enough to think the thing possible after each has had a good run at extended pace. Barber also can hardly be regarded as doubtful, for there is in all that diversity of competitors something not unlike safety to the sitting member. As to Fisher, much depends on whether the meeting of last Friday night took Mr Taylor seriously or otherwise. If they took him seriously, then Fisher has a good show: if otherwise than show hath he none sir. Whether Mander beats his opponent, the redoubtable and once famous Marsden Thompson, remains to be seen, and does not matter a great deal to the balance of parties, for the redoubtable one was very fond of giving the Government a piece of his mind and amusing them in a variety of ways that they'did not care too much about. The fight between Mr Millar and the Chief of all the Prohibitionists, the celebrated Adams, who organises everything on that side, heads deputations to the Premier, and gives him chapter and verse for everything unpleasant he chooses to advance, will be, it is said by the best judges of electioneering war, the toughest _ of the campaign. Herdman has against him the usual odds of the absentee ; Major will find that Felix McGuire can give a real bear hug; Jack Stevens will, it is thought, probably give Mr Vile a_n opportunity for a three years' study of the advantages, to a business man of high thought and deliberate speech, of complete freedom from political worry. But all this is only good to pass'the time. When the day of the election draws near we shall rush 111 where we are now treading lightly and gingerly. There, is in the city an echo from Pukekohe, the centre of the capital part of the district of the Leader of the Opposition. Some little while ago Mr Massey chaffed the Premier with a challenge to come up to his district, and the Premier took him up apparently in the same spirit, neither of them thinking about the matter again. But election times turn many a oest into earnest. And that is how the Premier came to have his horses taken out of his carriage by the boys at Pukekohe. He does not appear to have electrified the good people ot that remote part with anything in the shape of an epoch-making programme, but he seems to have pleased the folk fairly well.. If we may judge by the treatment accorded, the Government candidate ought to have a fair show. But the candidate is not quite big enough' for that kind of thing. " Never send a boy to the null used to be the old saying in the good old times when it was the proud privilege of mankind to take down the greenhorn. Mr McCardle is no chicken; he was, indeed, one of the greyest-headed of Mr Ballance's supporters in the eighties. But he is o'er young as a politician to be able to live long with Mr Massey. It is said to be quite satisfactory to the powers that be if the new man will keep the old member at home. Mr Massey has threatened to " stump " the country from one end to the other during the elections; but if he cau be kept at home there will be none of the reaping which is usually expected from the field of political stumps. Newtown is the object of some speculation in the street, One adventurous quidnunc the other day started the theory that No-license was in a bad way in Newtown. The roar that greeted his sally might have been heard at Mount Victoria. People up there actually did mistake the same for a cheer from the Italian corvette, and they said, "There's the Mayor going aboard in all his robes and chains of office." But the adventurer stuck to his guns. It appears that the enrolled numbers of this electorate i have risen during the past three years from 6600 to something over 8000, and the cry is " Still they rise." That involves' an increase of 3000 in three years, which implies the respectable yearly increase of 1000 a year. Are the people recently added to Newtown prepared to go No-license? If they are not to the extent of three-fifths, then it follows that even if the old electors remain as they were, Nolicense is doomed in Newtown. Mr Morita is a plea6ant-spokeu Japanese gentleman who has arrived hero for the purpose of looking into trade matters, and the street has got a notion that he will be able to get up a great and glorious trade with his country. Heaven grant that it may be so, for there are many things which we could sell to the Japs with great pleasure. There are forty millions of them. But to be the right kind of customers the forty millions must have money enough to pay good prices for good goods. Wool at a shilling, butter ditto, cheese in proportion, and manufactured cloth at decent prices—these we do very well indeed. But the Japanese population lives on a few pence a day, and how are the bulk of the forty millions going to be customers of purs on these conditions?. The matter!

ir, worth further enquiry, for all that. It is possible there may be enough of the rich classes to give us a good time in business.