RETIREMENr OF MR RAWLINS. June 27.

Otago Witness, Issue 2105, 28 June 1894, Page 23

RETIREMENr OF MR RAWLINS. June 27.

Mr Rawlins has decided to retire from the contest for the Tuapeka seat. Mr Scobie Mackenzie, therefore, re-enters the field, and will proceed at once to the north end of the pistrict, where he will commence the campaign in earnest. The election may now be expected to assume a more interesting aspect.

The Lyttolton Times is evidently of opinion that the Tuapeka electors will not act unwisely if they elect Mr Scobie Mackenzie as their representative. After some good-natured though adverse criticism of Mr Mackenzie's political characteristics, our contemporary proceeds as follows: — "If he has profited, as we hope he has profited, by bis brief exclusion from Parliament, we shall not regret his return to a sphere whtre ho certainly did much to relieve tho monotony of earnest mediocrity. The Liberal party would not be weakened by a stronger Opposition ; indeed, we believe that Ministers would be actually assisted by the criticism of the best minds on the other side of politics. Mr MacLoDzie'a return to the House would not give us the good Opposition which is held to be second in importance only to a good Government;, but it would do something to remove the idea that there is at present no Opposition at all. We shall therefore feel no disappointment — and certainly no alarm for the party — if the electors of Tuapeka should confirm the verdict of the Lawrence meeting, and prefer Mr Mackenzie to the Conservative-Liberal by whom he is opposed."

The Christchurch Press expresses a hope that Mr Rawlins will retire in favour of Mr Mackenzie. Mr Rawlins, it understands, is well fitted to represent the district, and has qualifications that would make him a useful member, but our contemporary urges that there can be no question as to whether he or Mr Mackenzie should retire: Our contemporary concludes :—: — "Mr Scobie Mackenzie has won for himself a first place in New Zealand politics. He might easily have had a seat at the last election had he agreed to select another constituency. But, with influences at work in favour of his opponent, which made his candidature an almost hopelesß one, he insisted on contesting the seat, and if he did not win he at least in no way suffered in publje estimation by his defeat. It will be a misfortune if Mr Rawlins declines to give way and so forces Mr Mackenzie to retire."

The Lyttelton Times, the Cbriatchurch Government organ, in its issue of Tuesday last paid the following tribute to Mr Scobie Mackenzie :—": — " The parly view of the matter does not much concern us, for we believe the seat to be secure for a Government candidate ; but whatever chance there was for an Oppositionist we would rather have seen attaching to Mr Mackenzie than to any other possible candidate. . . We do not deny that Mr Mackenzie was occasionally too strong in invective and inaccurate in his data, bub he was on the whole a representative of great usefulness, and his absence from the House must be regretted by every one who was at all acquainted with his mastery of public questions and power of incisive criticism. It is the exclusion of superior men by means of the system of district representation which constitutes the ohief condemnation of that system."