CITY WEST ELECTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5396, 4 March 1879, Page 2

CITY WEST ELECTION.

The election of a member of the General Assembly for City West Electoral District take* place to-day, and the two candidates are Mr. Peter Dignan, son of the former representative (the vacancy having been caused by his elevation to the House of .Representatives), and Mr. David Goldie, who has for a long time been a prominent member of the City Council, and who wa3 formerly a member of the Provincial Council. As to the men, both are untried as politicians, and in most respects the line of policy chalked out by them is tho same, that of giving a general support to Sir George Grey's Ministry. But a salient point, it so happens, arises, that is, in respect to the question of whether the colony shall have free, secular, and, if needs be, compulsory education, as at present existing, or whether tho State funds shall be granted as aids to denominational teaching. Ifc is not in this matter a question of men, but measures, and tho lino of demarcation is strongly drawn. Mr. Dignan candidly announces himself in favour of what may be termed denominational education— that is, aid by the State to schools established by religious denominations, provided they bring their schools to a prescribed standard in secular education. But Mr. Goldie, on the contrary, proclaims himself an advocate of tho national education system now in force. Thus, the election to-day, to the electors of City West, becomes a question of whether the present system of education, freed from control other than that exercised by the Education Board and the locally-elected committees, shall continue, or that of denominational education, in which religious teachers shall have a direct control, shall bo established. The poll will open at tho Young Men's Christian Association ltooms at 9 a.m., and close at 4 p.m. There are strong party influences and no small amount of feeling in regard to this election, and agents are doing their utmost to secure votes for their respective candidates Last night about 40 men who are entitled to voto for City West arrived in town from tho Thames, about 20 have come from Kaipara, and others who had no votes, but who are supposed to possoss influence, accompanied them. The leaders of these detachments appeared to think that their forces wero equally divided, so that they might by agreoment have remained at home. It will be seen that a reward of £20 is offered for the detection of persons attempting to personate. The roll for City West is in a disgraceful state, and how it became so will no Joubt become the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry; but, as it exists, it must be used at this election. It is but fair, howsver, to those who might inadvertently be led into a trap by sophistical electioneering agents, io state that there has been a careful scrutiny, ind the scrutineers who will be in charge of the candidates' interests in the booth will have l list of the names of those on the roll who are lead or absent, so that personation may prove 1 . dangerous trick. A.t a meeting of Mr. Goldie's 1 lection committee, held last night, 40 men ' olunteered to hunt up voters during the day. I