Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 606, 22 January 1879, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1879.

The entertainment at the Masonic Hall last night was one, m its way, of quite a unique character. The address of Captain Morris was the piece-de-resistance. What followed was an amusing burlesque. The afiair may be told m a few brief sentences. Captain Morris was passing through Gisborne, and availed himself of the opportunity to address the Gisborne portion of his constituency, more as to what was done m Parliament during the last session generally, than anything he had done of himself m particular. Captain Morris could not have felt himself under any particular obligation to enlighten his hearers, for the honorable member, it must be remembered, was the rejected and not the elected of Poverty Bay. However, hehadannounced, through the columns of the local press, that he would address his constituents, and he kept his word. He spoke for close upon an hour and a-half, and throughout was listened to with all due attention. Sut when he had brought his long speech to a close, the audience felt they had heard quite as much talk as they cared to listen to. Now, as far

as our experience goes, it is the usual custom, when a representative addresses a body of electors, that he delivers himself of all he has got to say, invariably concluding with the remark that he will be quite willing to answer any questions, to the best of his power, which may be put to him ; and it invariably follows that many questions, sometimes pertinent, and occasionally very impertinent, are put and answered, when the answers lead up to a motion, either that the representative is or is not entitled to a vote of confidence. But a long, and what threatened to be an interminable speech from Mr. Webb, quite upset the regular order of proceedings. Asking a question, preceded, or followed by a few words of explanation, to show what the question is intended to elicit, is one thing; but making a longwinded, dreary, fatiguing speech is altogether another thing. We cannot conceive by what right Mx*. Webb considered himself entitled to monopolise the platform, to the exclusion of others being allowed the opportunity to say one word, or put a question. It was certainly m very bad taste, as the speaker must have discovered by the impatience with which he was listened to ; and the interruptions and interjections which followed when he insisted upon being heard out to the end. There was, no doubt, very much to the purpose m what Mr. Webb said, for he had evidently carefully thought out and read up the subject matter of his discourse ; but this gentleman, most unfortunately for himself, as a speaker, and still more unfortunatily for his hearers, clothes his meaning m such superfluous and wearying verbiage, that the gist or point of it is altogether lost, or lies hidden m a cloud of words. From first to last, Captain Morris was entitled to possession of the platform to address his hearers, and then to answer such questions, or give such explanations, as might be required of him by all who wished information. But Captain Morris and those present last evening were m great part deprived of their right. Not the least extraordinary part of the proceedings, was the amendment moved by Mr. Councillor Walker, and which, after some little difficulty m the counting of hands, was carried. Mr. Webb had moved a no-confidence motion, which was followed by a counter-amendment from Mr. Ward ; but before either the amendment or the motion could be put Mr. Walker moved a second amendment, a very sensible one it was, albeit one, that, we venture to say, was never put at any meeting where an M. H. B. had addressed his constituency since the time when New Zealand first lived under a representative Government. Mr. Walker did not consider that Captain Morris was entitled to receive a vote of censure, and Captain Tucker always pleased with anything good, especially when it has the merit of originality supported Mr. Walker's amendment, which was carried by a majority of 28 as against 23, m the case of Mr. Webb's no-confidence motion. So that we might say to Captain Morris, quoting Bardolph : " Thou art damned, sweet Captain \ still shall you escape." The meeting was, m the whole, good-tempered and tolerably well-behaved. An outline report is given elsewhere m our columns ; for that is all readers will care to receive. Those who were present would not wish to wade through the address of Captain Morris, and those not present would find that the speech had not paid for the trouble of perusal. They would read nothing they had not, through one channel or another, heard before, neither would they read anything that was likely to furnish them with an idea worth retaining. Still had those who were absent have been present they could not have felt other than that of being greatly amused.