THE ELECTIONS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1136, 8 December 1893, Page 39

THE ELECTIONS.

LATER RETURNS. The following later returns were received on Nov. 29: North Island. BAT OP ISLANDS. R. M. Houston, G ... ... 1431 J. Trounson, IG; ... ... 1199 F. J. Dargaville, G 399 MARSDEN. R. Thompson, G 1925 J. Harrison, I G ... ... 1032 WAITEMATA. R. Monk has a majority of 226, and though 14 returns are to come, which will be chiefly in Palmer's favour, the result is not likely to be affected. EDEN. E. Mitchelson, O .•••. ... 1511 M. Niccol, G... 1187 J. M. Dargaville, G... ... 814 These are the returns published, but Mr Mitchelson states that his real majority is 350. THAMES. J. McGowan, G 1650 > E. H. Taylor 1339 PRANKLIN. Major Harris has been elected by a majority of 64. WAIKATOi A. J. Cadman, G 1136 I. Coates, O 1082 WAIFA. F. Lang, O ... ... 1889 G. Peacock, G ... ... 954 BAY OP PLENTY. W. Kelly, G 1162 ■ Colonel Burton, O 953 Rev. C. Jordan, G ... ... 583 G. Y. Stewart, I ... ... 116 T. M. Humphreys, I ... 19 WAIAFU. J. Carroll, G ... ... 2200 C. A. Delautour, I G ... 1706 hawke’s bay Captain Russell, O ... ... 1374 W. C. Reardon, G 1304 T. Tanner, G 904. NEW PLYMOUTH. E. M. Smith, G 1780 Colonel Trimble, O ... ... 1289 R. Price, I ... 163 One small return to come. x FATEA. G. Hutchison, I 1652 W. Cowern, G ... ... 979 WANGANUI. A. D. Willis, G 1517 G. Carson, 0 ... ••• 1374 A. J. Parsons, I ... ••• 359 RANGITIKEI. J. Stevens, G 2101 F. Y. Lethbridge, O ... 1924 South Island. WAIMEA SOUNDS. C. H. Mills, G 1037 H. Everett, G 704 Rev. J. C. Andrew, O ... 209 WAIRAU. T. L. Buick, 0 1466 W. Sinclair, G ... ••• 1146 J. Duncan, 1 618 GREY. A. R. Guinness, G 2405 W. Nancarrow, I 714 R. F. Bell, G 302 INANGAHUA. P. J. O’Regan, G 1121 W. G. ColUngs, I 917 R. H. J. Reeves, G 843 BULLER. R McKenzie, G 1813 E. J. O’Conor, G 1693 WAITAKI. W. J. Steward, G 1819 T. Paterson, 0 746 WAIHEMO. J. McKenzie, G 1796 M. J. S. Mackenzie, O ... 1462 WAIKOU AITI. J. Green, I 1049 G. J. Bruce, G 539 A. Thompson, G ... ••• 520 T. Smith, I ... • r . 80 CHALMERS.

RANGITATA. W. S. Masiin, G 1181 E. G. Wright, O 1114 R. M. Cuthbertson, I ... 249 I. R. C. C. Graham, G ... 20 Informal ... . ... 17 MATAURA. R. McNab, G ... ' ... 1417 G. F. Richardson, O ... 1300 J. Christie, G ... ... 371 WALLACE. J. Mackintosh, G ... ... 1637 H. Hirst, O ... 1204 Mr Yogel’s correct total in the Wellington city election is 3591, which puts him sixth on the list. Mr Duthie polled 10 more than was at first recorded, his correct total being 4822. The number of electors holding seamen s rights for various electoral districts who registered their votes with the Collector of Customs here was 85.

WHAT THE ELECTIONS SIGNIFY. SIR R. STOUT’S OPINION. A DIRECT VETO MAJORITY. Interviewed last week by a Times reporter Sir Robt. Stout thus expressed himself on the subject of the elections: — “I have not yet gone through very carefully the list of elected candidates. But I can see easily enough that the general result is exactly what I predicted in the House last session: — Ist, that the women’s vote would be democratic, as I knew it would be; 2nd, that they would not declare against our secular education system, notwithstanding all the talk of the ruin to this system their exercise of the franchise would bring about; and 3rd, that they would declare for the direct veto. The Liberal Party in the new Parliament is distinctly pledged to the prinoiple. of the direct veto. A decided majority of its members have pronounced emphatically against the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act of last session, and the principle of the direct veto must be accepted or else the minority must face the alternative of a coalition with the Opposition.” Sir Robert Stout then ticked off from a list of the newly-returned members the names of the direct veto supporters whom he knew, and this list we have supplemented with the names of Sir G. M. O’Rorke, Major Harris, Mr W. Kelly, Mr J. McLauchlan and Mr J. Allen (Bruce). The list, which shows a party of 44 members out of 70 in favour of the direct veto, is as follows : DIRECT VETO MEMBERS. R. M. Houston (Bay of Islands), R. Thompson (Marsden), R. Monk (Waitemata), Sir G. M. O’Rorke (Manukau), Major Harris (Franklin), W. Kelly (Bay of Plenty), Sir Geo. Grey and C. E. Button (City of Auckland), S. Carnell (Napier), C. Hall (Waipawa), Geo. Hutchiscn (Patea), F. Pirani (Palmerston), J. G. Wilson (Otaki), Dr Newman (Wellington Suburbs), Sir Robert Stout and H. D. Bell (City of Wellington). Total for North Island, 16. J. Graham (Nelson City), T. L. Buick (Wairau), P. J. O’Regan (Inangahua), R. Meredith (Ashley), D. Buddo (Kaiapoi), W. W. Tanner (Avon), J. Joyce (Lyttelton), J. McLauchlan (Ashburton), W. H. Montgomery (Ellesmere), G. W. Russell (Riccarton), G. J. Smith (City of Christchurch), A. Saunders (Selwyn), W. S. Masiin (Rangitata), P. R. Flatman (Pareora), W. Hall-Jones (Timaru), W. J. Steward (Waitaki), J. Green (Waikouaiti), J. A. Millar (Chalmers), D. Pinkerton, W. Earnshaw and W. Hutchison (City of Dunedin), A. Morrison (Caversham), J. Allen (Bruce), T. Mackenzie (Clutha), Y. Pyke (Tuapeka), R. McNab (Mataura), J. W. Kelly (Invercargill), and J. Mackintosh (Wallace). Total for South Island, 28; grand total, 44. THE NEW MEMBERS. A propos to new members with whom he is acquaihted, Sir Robert Stout said: — “ I know Mr R. McNab (Mataura) to be a very able man, a ripe scholar, and one whom T believe to be amongst the most

Mr A. Morrison (Caversham) is a very good speaker, and a working man who will make an excellent labour representative. Mr Graham (Nelson) is a very vigorous and able man and a very good speaker. Mr Carnell (Napier) is a really earnest and thoughtful man. As for Mr Button (City of Auckland), he has been in the House before, and is well known as an able lawyer. Mr W. H. Montgomery (Ellesmere) is a distinguished student of Balliol College, Oxford University, where he took a first-class position in law and jurisprudence. Mr G.W. Russell (Riccarton) was formerly, I understand, a Wesleyan minister, and I have known him in his later capacity of journalist. He is a man of considerable literary power. He took a great deal of interest in providing a moral textbook for our schools. He is a direct vetoist and will prove a very valuable member. Mr P. J. O’Regan (Inangahua) I look on as a rising man. He also is a direct vetoist. I think when he gets more experience, and perhaps studies the subject of taxation more closely, he likewise will prove a valuable member. Of course he is a single taxer. Mr W. Crowther (City of Auckland) I have met on several occasions. He seems to be a very honest, sensible man. I do not know what his political views are. Mr J. McLaijchlan (Ashburton) is a very sensible, shrewd man. Mr W. W. Collins (City of Christchurch) will be one of the best speakers in the House. He is against the principle of the direct veto, on the ground that it is an interference with individual liberty. He is himself a teetotaller, and I think will make a very valuable member. Mr G. J. Smith (City of Christchurch) is a very able, quiet, sensible man, and in favour of the direct veto. Mr J. Green (Waikouaiti) is an old colleague of mine in the Provincial Council of Otago. We were both in the Reid Executive in the provincial days. Mr J, A. Millar (Chalmers) is a very able man. Mr F. Pirani (Palmerston) is also an able man, and will make a very effective speaker in the House.

A PRESS OPINION. By Telegraph. —Own Correspondent. Auckland, November 29. The Star to-night, commenting on the results of the elections, says : —“ The elections throughout the Colony have resulted in an overwhelming victory for the Government. The Opposition leaders have been utterly swept away, and the returns of all Independents and Doubtfuls credited to the Opposition give a total of 18 members of that party returned, as against 52 Liberals, of whom 41 may be classed as supporters of the leadership of Mr Seddon, and 11 who might perhaps prefer the leadership of Sir Robert Stout, although the majority of these would unquestionably support the Government against any proposed coalition with the Opposition. Every member of the Ministry has succeeded in securing re-election, while the disasters among the first rank of the Opposition are as astonishing as they are fatal to the hopes of that party. The most remarkable fact about the election is the strength of the Government in the country districts. Generally, wherever the people have been brought in contact with land monopoly, they appreciate the efforts of the present Ministry to secure for the people by fair measures their inheritance in the lands of the Colony. That was the question which above all others determined the result of the elections. Among the contending cries of one sort and another, the electors never forgot that the Ministry had courageously grappled with monopoly, and had endeavoured honestly to find a solution for some of the most difficult problems affecting the welfare of the people. The advocates of the direct veto by a bare majority are estimated as 24 in a House of 70. It is probable, therefore, that no change will be made in the present Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act until it has stood the test of three years’ trial. The change from the management of the railways by the Conunissioners to a system under which the Ministry will

branch of the public service may now be regarded as a foregone conclusion. The position of the Ministry under the Premiership of Mr Seddon is wholly unassailable. The Government have obtained from the country such an endorsement of their past administration that nothing but wholesale treachery on a scale that is altogether inconceivable could, deprive Ministers of that opportunity for further developing their policy which it is plainly the will of the electors of the Colony they should be a fforded.”

NORTHERN MAORI ELECTION. By Telegraph. —Press Association. Russell, November 29. Messrs Hone Heke, Poata Uruamo, Epairaima, and Te Kapa have been nominated as candidates for the Northern Maori Electorate. The poll is to be taken on the 20th December. THE OPPOSITION PRESS. It would, of course, be idle for us, says the Christchurch Press, to pretend that we are anything but extremely disappointed with the results of the elections so far as we can estimate them at this moment. The party which we represent has, we admit, sustained a very considerable defeat, though we think it is ridiculous to suppose that the strength of the present Ministry has been increased proportionately to the diminution in the forces of the present Opposition. The large body of members who are returned as nominally supporting the present Ministry contain in themselves so many elements of discord that their party is certain very shortly after the meeting of Parliament to split up into at least two sections in vigorous opposition to each other. According to the Press, the following is a summary of the classification of the new members : Ministerial, 50; Opposition, 15 ; Independent, 5. The Press continues :—ln Christchurch Mr Reeves heads the poll, and though we have been very strongly opposed to him, and have said some hard things of him which we honestly thought ought to be said, we most cordially admit that if his party is to be victorious he deserves his position at their head in this city. Either as a platform speaker or a Parliamentary debater he is facile princeps in his party. Nothing made' this more clear than the specimen of the Premier’s oratory which we were treated to on Saturday last. His administration of the Education Department leaves but little to be desired, especially as he has the good sense to pay proper deference to the counsels of the experienced heads of his Department. Another Opposition journal, the Otago Daily Times, says that the Waihemo contest is one of those cases where disaster has a glory of its own. During his absence from the Parliamentary arena, says the Times, Mr Mackenzie will be consoled by the memory of a fight for the right fought with splefldid courage and equally splendid forbearance. Equally unfortunate, it seems to us, is the rejection of Mr G. F. Richardson at Mataura —an event which, it may be suspected, will half compensate the Government for the terrible blow which they have received at Wellington. A momentous disaster has befallen the Opposition in the defeat of Mr Rolleston at Ellesmere, and are sure that a feeling of regret, almost akin to pain, will be pretty generally experienced at this discomfiture of a high-minded and patriotic gentleman whose first thought has ever been the national welfare. Mr Pyke has found his way back to membership, and though we have no great liking for his present political views, there is a kindly feeling for him throughout Otago. Captain Russell goes back for Hawke’s Bay, and with Mr Mitchelson will represent in the new House the official element of Mr Eollcston’s old party. It will be no easy matter to draw out the real conclusions of the election as a whole. The rough estimate of the Times, however, is that 50 Ministerialists, 12 Oppositionists, and 8 1 ndependents have been returned.

disappointed with the result of the elections in that district, and says the most pessimistic never expected Mr Carnell to have a majority of over five hruidred.

WOMEN’S FRANCHISE IN CHRISTCHURCH. The Christchurch Press thus describes ; the voting of the women in the church election: —The pretty dresses qjPp; the ladies and their smiling faces lighted'”#,' up the polling booths most wonderfully, and one envied the returning officer and poll clerks, whose duty it was to pass in review such a galaxy of beauty. Truly yesterday was the women’s triumph. For at least an hour Christchurch was at the mercy of an enemy, who fortunately was merciful. How potent an enemy it was the writer of a well-known song, _“ I Fear • No Foe,” has aptly described — ■>' I fear, alas, the glamour Through thy drooping lashes seen, sings the poet. And so, though the victory ; - was complete, though the tyrant man, as he has been called by women’s rights | orators, was trampled metaphorically speaking—under the delicate foot of Enfranchised Woman—with a large E and W —she, as ever, was a merciful and considerate foe. Having achieved the * victory of holding the forts of all the polling places for at least an hour, the women retired in good order, with drums beating and flags displayed. It was most interesting to watch the different groups of women as they made their way towards the polling places. It was noticeable that they always went in pairs. Here, again, the true nature of woman asserted > itself. Such must have something to cling . to, even if it be but another woman. Thus reinforced a woman has been known to defy even a mouse. And so in pairs they paced onward to exercise for the first time the ‘t privilege which hitherto had been confined to those very ordinary individuals comprised J; in the male sex. As they went along it was , v i; noticeable that there was something more serious than a mere outing with their sweethearts. The care with which they had attired themselves showed that they fully appreciated the importance of the occasion. As they walked there was also noticeable an expression of high resolve on their faces, a kind of “do or die” look. Then, , added to this, was a curious sort of look as ?' though they were embarking on an enter-/ prise the exact result of which they were not quite sure. This, when combined with .!• the evident feeling of pride that they at least had a part in the work of building up ' a nation in New Zealand which was new to them, made the newly enfranchised most interesting objects of study. As has been f said, the women were very early on the . scene. There were also about the different polling places signs that some of the ladies had j taken considerable pains to make themselves acquainted with “The ways that are dark and tricks that ares vain ” connected with electioneering, for they stood round the entrances and intercepted their sister voters with energetic and impassioned appeals to vote for thenparticular candidates. One lady was so flurried by these persistent vote seekers that on getting her voting paper from the poll clerk she carefully erased the three she was desirous of voting for, and deposited her paper triumphantly with eight names uncancelled. The Mayoress of Sydenham was the first woman voter to cast her ballot. * In some of the groups of ladies discussing the question after they had recorded their votes, political feeling ran pretty high. They seemed to be, so far as could be seen, ;■{ divided into two distinct camps, Prohibitionist and otherwise.

THE VOTING IN WELLINGTON. The total number of persons who recorded votes in the city election was 13,306, out of a total of 16,497. The remaining 3191 will, under the new Act, bo struck off the roll. The total number of informal votes was 147, the informality consisting principally of voters leaving too many names on the ballot paper. The seamen’s votes registered numbered 137, and these were cast as follows: Bell, 15 ; Duthie, 20; Dwan, 3; Fisher, 6; Fraser, 9 ; Macdonald, 23 ; McLean, 21 ; Stout, 18 ; Travers, 4 ; Vogel, 18, S? ' . ’ PARTY.

The effect of the elections on Party Government is the thing which wise men are considering with a good deal of interest. The plain English of the position is that two Parties went to the country, and only one came back again. At any rate so little of one came back that it is not worth considering as a Party. Moreover, as has been well said, the greater number of this small band owe their election not so much to their political opinions as to their character, and the local popularity which they thoroughly well deserve. The question which comes uppermost in the situation is where is Party Government now ? The answer is plain: Party Government has been swept away by the practical annihilation of one of the Parties. '

“Is this permanent ?” That is the next question to suggest itself. So far as the revival of the Conservative Party of the past is concerned, the answer must be in the affirmative. That Party made its last effort in Parliament against the new ideas for three years, and that effort failed at the elections. Since then the great Conservative Party of the past is no more. Fuit Ilium, which being translated means that the Party is as dead as Troy, which disappeared before the art of writing was invented. For this .the course of the various election contests in a measure pre-. pared us, for the speeches of many of the Conservative Party were pitched largely in the Liberal vein. Seveial prominent Conservatives who had opposed the Liberal measures took up the Liberal ideas, and were criticised pretty severely accordingly. Nevertheless, what those of them who escaped the general “ battue,” of which tbei

runner, will do when Parliament meets, it is not difficult to forecast. Had their Party come back as they hoped, and believed, and strove to bring about, with increased strength, they would have been obliged to do as they had done before. They would have had to turn their backs on the Liberal ideas and stand by the Party. In other words, Party Government would have gone on upon the old lines. We should have had the old criticisms, the old denunciations, the old obstructions, the old waste of time. But the crushing defeat of the Conservatives has saved the position of the Conservatives who profess Liberal ideas from impossibility. They will be able to keep their election promises by obeying the mandate of the country. For that purpose they will find plenty of room in the overshadowing majority returned by the constituencies. The Government side thus saved from the pressure of a harassing Opposition must necessarily fall into the more or less undisciplined state which is the normal condition of parties which are overwhelmingly strong. The Liberal Party, feeling the want of that cohesive force which is given by a strong Opposition well led, will insensibly split into sections. These will be ready to act together on great occasions, for the hold their chiefs will have over them will be the pledges of the majority of individuals to support the Liberal flag. But in these sections there will be enough strength to form, not an apparent, but a real Opposition. That of course will not bring back Party Government at once. In the beginning the Administration will carry tits principal measures, and the Opposition will confine itself to a careful watch over details, and personal considerations will no doubt count for much. Gradually, however, such an Opposition must drift from details to principles, and then we shall again have Government by Party. What wo shall see probably after that time has arrived will be a division between the Radicals, who want to move fast, and the Liberals, who think a slower pace is the right thing for the country’s safety. These latter will probably find themselves dubbed “ Conservatives,” the Conservatives of that day being really identical with the Liberals of the present time. In fact, the march of progress on which the Liberal Party is now entering, practically unim- ' peded by an Opposition, is destined to break the Party into two. It is the history of parties from the beginning—and will be the history to the end. The history of the past has proved the advantages of Party Government, and will justify its existence in the future.

THE REASON WHY. Comment has not 1 yet ceased in various parts of the Colony on the main feature ' of the general result of the general election. We of course allude to the fact that certain of the largest districts in the Colony have returned no Conservatives at all. Southland, Canterbury, Marlborough and Nelson are specially noticeable for this. Not a single member of the Opposition, not a single Conservative, not an independent patriot trembling on the balance is there on the lists of the representatives of these four districts. Hawke’s Bay was very nearly falling into line also, and would have' done so if Mr Tanner had thought more of the country’s good than his own ambition. This district in the last Parliament was Conservative by two members to one. To-day, in consequence of the election, the position is exactly reversed, the Liberals being two to one. If the number of votes polled is any guide to the popular feeling—and it is a very good guide —Hawke’s Bay is Liberal by a ma/ioritv sufficiently large to give all the.

seats to a Liberal representative. The Conservative defeat in Hawke’s Bay, however, is as striking in its way as the Conservative defeat in Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson and Southland. Naturally one asks why should these districts have furnished so much of the burial ground in which the defunct Conservative Party lies buried ? The reason, as mentioned by one of our Southern contemporaries, reminds us of the story of Harold before the battle of Stamford Bridge, who, being asked by the Danish . chief what inducement he was ready to offer him to come to terms, promptly returned that lie would give him “ six feet of land for a grave.” That was the attitude of the Conservative Party in the above provinces, entrenched behind their large possessions. The people before the election contest were demanding land for settlement, because vast areas of the public estate had been alienated without due prevision for settlement, and alienated in such a way as to favour the rise of great properties on the dog-in-the-manger principle. Improvement pre-emptives barred the public rights-of-way, and the seizure of the commanding 1 places had sealed up large areas of Crown country by making it inaccessible. There was no disposition, and there is no disposition, and there never will be any disposition on the part of the Democracy to confiscate properties acquired by process of law. Whether good or bad, the law is the law; the law stands between order and anarchy ; the rights given by the law have to be maintained. That is one thing. To keep power in the hands of the men who made the bad laws under which these outrageous vested interests have grown up, and to allow rule to the holders of property so acquired, that is another thing. Democracy is a respecter of the law, but not a respecter of persons. The Government had found out the method of opening these lands for settlement, without doing violence to any principle of justice whatever, had proclaimed that method, whilst the holders aud their friends cried “ confiscation.” The cry sealed their political doom in Southland, Canterbury, Marlborough and Nelson where the estates are enormous and employment scarce; and also in Napier where the same conditions prevail. The Democracy wants for every man a larger landed estate than is sufficient to bury him when his fitiful life of cheap labour is over. That is the plain story of the election in these five provinces. Does the Upper House want a stronger indication of the popular approval of the Ministerial land policy ?