AUCKLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10423, 27 July 1895, Page 7

AUCKLAND.

/''xCFeom, \ '■ kZ\ V-^ . I-.-:. ■: %.^)': -;s'^".V- I:Julyils.i '-.: ■We are'l'now ia the: throes' of-a' contested election,'aiicl in; all probability it will be fought out sTOth." a ;i bitterness utiprecedented in. 'the history of ..Auckland,.-. ..The publication of ~th'e ;Piemier's teiftgram to the .^Liberal Association,

intimating that the Government would support Mr Thompson astheauecessbr of'Sir_Goorge ; Grey '^b a repiesentatiye of the^'City.of Auck-

land, cameupoh the: electors like r a,bombshell,

and i was- a,;complete,surprise to. the Labour; orgapisati pns.: Tne announcement fairly, "pat the fat in the fire. The: Labour organisations and the majority of the-organisations poiiti--;C»lly allied with them, keenly reapnted. the dis-; courtesy and indignity placed, upon them, and the obvious attempt at 'dictation. Some of the speeches made-at-their meetings savouvad of

political; blasphemy and flat revolt against tha Premiel;, and- might have . been /.delivered:'.more .fitly^m, the hail.of the-National Association.

One speaker,,. who is a , prominent. 'Liberal

agitator, said that " the would not' grovel to Richard nor would they allow Hiih to choose a candidate for'them; that. was' "their1 own ;political'/birthright." ' Theoutcome of; the" indiscreet-action of :.the ■Government "and^the! 'premitture arid injudicibusvpublication;of'the'Tremior's telegram has been to cause a complete disruption of the : Lib3ral party into anumber.of fragmenfei each; fighting , for ■ its own hand., Allegations; of

.;'ftcickery,and treachery "-are being fresly, bandied about, and officers of associations are .re-

fusing to .otey^h'e mandated bfthe organisations '.to'.whichVthfy beloag. The state of pqlitioaj, anarchy ia simply ino(etcrij^cbiei '~; '•' \':' '",''['' ! ■ '■ Coining tpi the candidatesi Mr Thompson! whoi was first in;the;fleld,'wiil fight matters' out to, the bitfcsrend: whatever may be the resdlt."-Mr; 'John Fawcus, th 4 chosfeh of the Labour isrganisa-, : tiohs, iiis been Vover ■a q aai1 t'er i; of'a • oectiiry a resident: ofI'Auckland, '^ has"- the: reputation', ofbeing a level-headed man, and is said to be a' ifaic-public-speaker, ysMr;,TQdehope, theiabbar ■ candidate, of last general election,. and who nearly.Bucceededinjgetting.jelected,.gave, place .'lw i ..MrFawcas.^on.'!.this>'o'c(»si(;n.. v me former; ■gedtleman h'ld a ■blamelessi record.and was of strict integrity, bat he proved' a • failure iews; a public^^ speaker,' 'and .'therefore this 'eledtion it; waa thought betfief to p'uVup Mr'Fawouoi 'He was1 engineer of; the s.s. Coromahdel for some 14I years,'.plying between Auckland and the'townsbip of Coromandel, and- \t a good spocimeh of, his class. ■.., Mr Pawcns ' does notiiseem1: to. have:: been over-.!.-;happy.:.-. in;U.Wellington,, and .is..glad.;,to.-ibe.. back; again in Auckland, where, his family, reside. Icis said: that .over-., tares : were made to the Laboar ; party to;withdraw their maa in favour.of. Mr! Thompson on: : the understanding that ttiey bhould get one of the \ city Beats at the'next generalelection^ and.aiso i 'two outuide seat?," said to be Eden arid Waitsmat*,' which must he cheirf ul tidiDgs to Messrs. E. Mifcchelson abd ; MaVsey, who rtspectively. represent these electorates. : The Labour party, -believing that a bird in the hand-is worth two in the bash;did.aot fall in:'with these ' aogges-; ■fcionSj.and the ' is the extraordinary complication now existing. Mr J.:'M ; Shera, who came out with a rush.'1 in -response to a large requisition,'! has ; retired as suddenly in faypnr of .Mr Thompson. Why the Independent Liberal has'acted .'thus is a myutery, but it is shrewdly suspected that; he has " expectations," and' the solution of the puzzle will be obtained at tbe next general election. Mr Shepherd Allen, -who was solicited to contest the city in the intere&t of the National party, has apparently had enough of i fighting losing battles, for he firmly and absolutely; declined to accede to' the request, though he is comiDg to Auckland, from. Waikato to aid Mr Monk's candidature. Thera is not the slightest doubt that Mr Monk, will make s. good fight. He has a long score to settle with the present' Ministry, and will make ..matters lively if he should succeed, as Mr Button did,-

in' alippioij in ..through the' divisions: of tlia Liberal party and the struggles of rival Liberal ca'flrtidates; The publication of the Labour party's manifesto, showing the disintegration going on in the Liberal party, has given Mr Monk's supporters renewed hope and energy. Local politicians state that, owing to the side

issues and„ criMS currents, ifc ia imposeible to state with any degree of certainty who will be returned. It is said that the vote of the women will really.determine the choice of the electorate, but even here disunion manifests itself among the Liberals—one section of the Women's Liberal League declaring Pawcus is the man of their choice, while another section is sweet upon Thompsons The resignation of Sir George Grey did hot came upon the public as a surprise. Notwithstanding all that haa been1 said in Parliament about the electors of the City; of Auckland being contented to be disfranchised; and that as the mattex* was one entirely between the electors. and their representative- •it was -an impertinence for outsiders to interfere, the facts are entirely otherwise. There has bsen very, grave dissatisfaction felt in Auckland among all classes of the electors at the City being deprived of a representative for nearly two sessions. It has not been expressed very openly, but it has been simmering all the time. The reasons for reticence hava been gratitude lor Sir George Grey's eminent services in the past, his splendid gifts to the city, aud also a desire to do nothing which would cause pain to the aged statesman, Tvho, humanly speaking, must soon cease to play » part in the world's history. It is fait and recognised that his connection with New Zealand politics is over, and that we shall see his faca no more. Still the "Grand Old- Man" will live in the memories of the preheat generation of Auaklahders, and the priceless treasuseß be has given to them in tbe Grey collection of the Free Public Library will be an enduriDg monument of his foresight and princely beneficence. Mr Ward, on his arrival, nihst have been pleased with the reception accorded to him. For 24 hours previous to the arrival of the Warrimoo, representative Liberals were running up and down the Queea street wliacf, anxiously scanning the semaphore on Mount Victoria. In order to get the firat glimpse of the Great Burner, some of them actually put up overnight at tha adjacent hotels. It w&s amusinjr ■ to sea the crowd of place-hunters, and I of representative^ of organisations who have > a lively expectation cf favours to come. ■ The Cblouial Treasurer is too shrewd a I man not to bavo got the gunge of the 1 prot'ciflioaal political " bosses," who elaisi to i tun the labour and kindred organisations, Mr

Ward, in the course of his reply to the address

presented to him, contrived to do a little

' barracking". for Mr Thompson without

sctually mentioning him by came, bub it was

received with ominous silence. Personally Mr Ward is very popular in Auckland owing to his general tact and geniality, and it occasioned no surprise,,therefore, that the Chamber-of Commerce should presaut a courteous and coa-

gratulatory address to him ou the close of his' mifsiou. They had, indeed, prepared a little list of questions on matters about which they " wanted to know, you know" ; but as it was " the Sawbath " the deputation refrained from heckling him, and sent the lisfc on to Welliugton by post lor future reply. It appears that they drew a vice ■ distinction batweeri chatting in a club over the successful negotiation of the loan and the prepared lisp of-questions, as the latter might evoko a discuasiou scarcely in keeping with the sacred associations of the day. Mr Ward is supposed to have several cards*tip hia sleeve, which will be produced in due course during the session of Parliament, and his utterances in-his placa in, the House are awaifced/with feelings of curiosity and interest. Bat little interest has been taken in Auckland in the proposal to dispose of the land*'of the Estates Company by lottery, and therefore there was no disappointment felt inthe rejection' of ■ the scheme by Parliament. Only one Labour-organisation and a V/esleyan suburban circuit pronounced against it, while the Auckland Ministers' Association mide ho sign. The attitude of the community was one of indifference, fotfgsmbliu^ has so permeated all elaaW that a lottery more or less did not matter much.' The Ministers' Association appears to be so disbesrtened at the failure of its previous crtisade against gambling that it ■ seenw inclined to let matters take ftieir .course. Considerable amusement was created'by tbe- statements of Mr •■ Frank La wry ,1a tho House that '' the people ",were: clamouring forthe establishment of consultations and : sweeps, and thet they would inMstou their being legalised by 'settlingtha question at the ballot iiox. IE the hon. member's constituent?' are rampant on -this score, it ia strange "that they have' not taken steps to make, it ar " burning question,"' or to plaice their.views unniiiitak!ibiy"oii record. As it,is, it is one of those cases in which we go ifrom home to-learn.?DewH, aad the people of Auckland • are neither % better* nor worse than : their fellow icolomsts elsewhere In a proclivity for sweaps or consultations^ ;t ■

sibHs pka«ng to note' that the - movement to promote tep^uical educatdori in Auckland haj fairly''caught on.'* Thereare-now 140 pupils in^the^techuioal clfissesj'and frbsh classes are 'about to be'formed^soasto inakethe course bi inotruefcion: as wide ao and also to as lar^e1 a proportion of the «!bmmuDJtjp as cad ' biiVroaehed.-' :The aubscribers. to the Taranaku war reliof fund:'"p'f:lß6o are so satisfied with the'good work'that at the public \mee'ting of subscribers* to decide what'^hould be 'the bal<ince;of'tbe fund, it was carried; with biit ha!f a dozen dfsaehtients, who desire the'return of their subscriptions, that the money should be*devoted/to tephnicat education;)': The fund ■amounts to£"!-95 or theceab6uts,'and as a! Government subsidy is payable up to £500 ori'subscriptions'-or: moneys raised for technical education; -the,' Commit.tee 6f Man'agemfrit ;will ■have,^iwhen i.tie legal fdr•Baalitie's are'complied With;: close upon £1000 at ' their di-jp'psal' aparb:'from;Vwhat' ha.3 been 'col-

lected. ■ ': This- sum should, with good mftnage•metit; asoura the future success of the Auckland Technical; School, and-prove a source of groat benefit 'to - ttie- young men of the city, especially thbse"f?'of the artif'an class.' :An attcimjit was • 'made"; to divert the money to the- Jnatitiite for;. the -Blind," bat the

proposal did not find 'even a ne'conder, 'that institution^ having- pretty .will exploited the •community 'already.- A fuvtherrpsopqß'ar, was made that the'fund should be used to establish a : hos pital= for oonsumptivea; but that' suggestion' (also ■ fell' to ' the ' ground: for very : cogent reasons^-namely,, that sach a 1 Vchenae' would involve'an ■expouditure'f of thousands of pounds in buildings and staff if it' wera to bo of any public benefit; that t^e obligation lay upon the Charitable Aidari<| Hospital Boards rather tha« upon' private individuals; ' sud lastly, that the climate of Auckland proper is "'not the best ia. the World/for consumptive cases. '■ The common sense of the public'; asserted; itself, and' ihe ; . balance of the TaranakUwar.relief fund of 1860, will' now proiflote the' good ■of ; the greatosi number. •>■ .■"••.:■• ■'■'■;'_ ■■■.■"'■;'■y v:":> .■■;'; .-.' " Our ;Woikato"and other sheepbreedera have suffered seveio losses byjtheir ill-advised sbipmeut of s'aeeptb.Sydney. ;-Thi3 is much to bn regretted^ as'it was /hoped that a "profitable trade was about -'to be openad-up in-this direc-.. tion. 'The success of the exporters of a couple of yearsl ago and the moderate returns of'last: year's- sales appear -to have been' the principal' inducements <: to' renew the,:recent shipmenta..' It'can soarcelybo '■■ said: that exporters: had not sufficient'warning1;1 aa.the'lioan :and Mercaatile Company published a cablegram here, attention to' v?hich would ;hava saved sheepbreeders and expoiterß much iloas and »nnoy«noe. ' ' ■. ■ ; I '■ Never for close on haif a century have we experisßceii such-adinolement winter' as the present, and death haa'cut down the agedand1 feeble withi remorseless hapd3.' The suburban. and OMhunga settlers,'settled on volcanic soil, are largely depsadenfc for their living on early, cropsj and the higher prices thus obtained. For six weeks they have been unable to do anything with their sections owing to the wet. '■■VQbce <»'.. twice thero h»g been at spell of 24 hours' dry. weather.' The result Will be seiious ioaa and hardship ■•■to a class of settlers who are but' ill-prepared.to endure such a cdntingenoy,1 and whosejnduslry should merit'a bftter fate. ■; ' . ; 'Amohg tiio*e who have passed ■•• away during thepast fortiiight ia the Rev. James Wallis, the last of the pioneer :band of! Wesleyan, mis-' Bionaries' who came to the northern portion of the coldny'm "the tairties.": '^He had attHined the ags "of .87, •■'- Mr ' Wallis" arrived in Hokianga in.1834, and in thesfollowing year he and thelateßeyVJolinWhiteley (aftfrwarda murdered Taranaki by the Natives) founded mittjion stations at Whangaroa (Eaglan) an<): Eawbia; A few; years later Mr -Wallis founded the ■ mission station' of Tafagitroris, on - the Northern Wa.ir6a,'K»ip»r» (afterwards occupied, by the'Bev. James Brillerj'father of Sir Walter Buller). In ''the forties'' Mr Wallis again returned to 'Raglan, and- founded missieu stations in Waikato. ''On1 the outbreak of-the Waikato war of '1863 he cime with his family to Auckland, where he-resided ever since, as the'infirmities of • age were creopiDg upon him after a life of; expbaur* ; and hardship in the early days. During the Waikato war he esar-cised-his-influence over the Native .tribes ia favour of psace; and of the constituted authorities. Mr Willis's death brenks the last link between the' paat and present of, Wesleyan missions,, and clp3es one chaptetia'the history of the■ colony as regarcis'tha early pioneer miesionaries of-thoWeßleysn Church.