Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1890. The Game of Bluff.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 13 November 1890, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1890. The Game of Bluff.

« — It is disheartening, although to some extent amusing, to observe how very | much like a flock of sheep the general public act at election times. That this is so is evidenced by the tactics of the candidates for the representation of an electoral district. They work upon the well known fact that where on* sheep goes many will

follow, and tlio'r efforts a^e all used , to produce a like c-lVact upon tho i 1 voters. It is, for this, that " votes ' of confidence " are manipulated, ?o that the " great unthinking " may be : led to believe, that a candidate has made an immense impression and secured a large following. We like [ not these so-called "votes of conn- ; dance," th^y-are a delusion and a snare, and deceive both candidates and elscto-. 1 ?. In this particular ! electorate what do we notice ? Tha* | the thveo candidates Inwel over the «?a i .ne ground and each receive a " vote of confidence 1" Have the electors changed their minds each time in favour of the last speaker ? Nothing of the sort. The vote is obtained by various expedients, and is of the smallest value. Then, too, the temperament and the polities of the reporter greatly influence the published reports of the meeting at which the votes are carried. A week or two back we had a valuable instance of this. "When Mr Stevens addressed the electors at Palmerston, one of the daily papers reported that he had received an unanimous vote of confidence, and the other paper asserted that the vote had only been carried on a division by 12 to 2. It little matters how it was carried, except as illustrating the contrary view taken of a fact by two eye witnesses. One thing appears evident, that if the two objectors did not hold up their hands, the twelve who did would have secured an "unanimous " vote, though only twelve really took part in the proceedings out of the very large number present. In this way the " reports " of other meetings give both Messrs Stevens and Pirani " unanimous " votes of confidence. Sometimes a candidate may address a small meeting of his strong supporters, only those interested in him attending, then he, naturally, receives a "vote of confidence"' in a proper manner, but this is of course of little value in determining his chances. Again, a candidate may lie an exceedingly popular man in the neighbouring electorate, and his friends arc so anxious that he should be returned for the one lie is contesting, so that they may practically enjoy the support of two representatives, that when he speaks to the electors, near the boundary of the district, they pack his meeting with persons from the adjoining electorate, and carry what resolutions they please, despite their actually not possessing a vote amongst them ! Thig piece of "bluff" encourages the candidate to his downfall. He has so frequently noted "votes of confidence" at his different meetings, that he comes to believe that these have been the natural outcome of the feelings of the electors, and he is therefore naturally mortified when the ballot declares otherwise. Of course, if the i-iuididate accurately estimates the result of each meeting, the declaration of tho receipt of a " vote of confidence " only misleads the electors, who. iit election times, are considered fair game for mystification, so long as their vote can be obtained. II is time that candidates should object to such •• votes of confidence." There is one other cose that can be illustrated. Supposing that two weak candidates desired to depreciate the reputation of the strong candidate. o\l they hr.ye to £io is to join forces at the strong candidate's meeting and oppose the vole his supporters propose, and it would then appear that the strongest man had the least support in the place where his supporters nearly equalled the supporters of the other two candidates. The game of "bluff" is a good game until the cards are seen. Votes of confidence are only valuable when they correctly represent the views of the electors, in all other cases they are valueless and misleading, and mainly arise from the good nature of the audience. j