BUYING VOTES.

North Otago Times, Volume 1945, Issue XXVI, 22 July 1878, Page 2

BUYING VOTES.

(To the Editor of the North Oruso Times.) Sir, — T revort attain to the statomont mado by your evening contemporary that an influential individual named Joseph Williams had boon offered Li for his vote by another influential individual named Henry Tempero, and that the beforomentionod Joseph Williams (Joseph is a name that Henry Tompero might havo had the sagacity to know liad withstood temptation from very early times) had refined to depart from the path of moral rectitudo which ho had chalked out for himself, even if he lost LI thereby. All honor to Joseph for doing so ! Your contemporary says that ho has been led to divnlgo tho circumstances in tho interests of the public, and as tho matter is a very woighty one. What does this moan ? If two obscure individuals got up an altercation relative to tho offer to sell or buy a vote, is it a weighty matter ? I think not. What then is a weighty matter. By implication wo are led to infer that Tompero was only acting as the agent of somo ono elso, or how could tho matter bo ono of so much gravity ? As Mr Steward's Committee ai'o tho only persons who take an activo part in the work of returning him, I presume your contompory moans that they aro tho focus from which irradiatos tho bribery business. This is truly deplorable, and illustrates tho earnestness with which your contemporary has attempted (so he says) to follow an impartial lino of conduct. Allow mo to inform tho sapient youth (his ignoranco of certain things I take to bo a proof of his youth) who writes for your contemporary that so much necessity docs not exist for informing the voters that Tomporo and Williams have not boon able to come to an undorstandingas to tho value of a vote, as thcro does for endeavoring to curb tho propensity for "perverting the truth," which tho side ho has generously espoused havo mado every effort to accomplish. With so much superior intelligence on their side, and tho very scrupulous (?) pen of " Brown," who, T sco, has changed his namo to " Robinson," (why not " Jones?") let us hope that they Avill not retrograde in tho effort to establish a new school of polemics, but that every inducement will bo held out for them to advance, for I am certain that any attempt to reform thorn would only end in disastrous failure. As to tho Committee who induced Mr Tempero to do this naughty thing — well — let us hope that Mr Tomporo handed them back the LI when ho found that tho Josephs of this generation had as much of tho quality of resisting temptation as any other Josoph who psrhaps had gone before him. — I am, &c, WOTEIt.