The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Friday, September 12, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, 12 September 1879, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Friday, September 12, 1879.

The Municipal elections, yesterdayresulted in three very good men being returned on the poll. These were Mr. John Townley, Mr. F. J. Piesse, and Mr. E. K. Brown. The election was very warmely contested towards the afternoon, the friends and supporters of the candidates fighting hard for their men. A large number of votes were recorded — larger than on any previous occasion. Mr. Townley went in at the head, which it was fully expected would be the case ; Mr. Piesse came next. Then came Mr. E. K. Brown and Mr. A. Y. Ross, the former getting Ins position by the casting vote of the Returning Officer. Captain Ferris felt the delicacy of his position. He hardly cared to give a preference, and it appearing to him that Caesar was as good as Pompey and Pompey as good as Caesar, he tossed up a coin. " Tails go for Mr. Brown ; heads for Mr. Ross," said the Returning Officer, The coin descended, and declared fora tail, whereupon Mr. Brown was duly elected by a majority of One over Mr. Ross, Mr. Brown in the last election Ibsing his place by a single vote. Mr. Carlaw Smith came next in order, and had to submit to a defeat. Mr. G. H. Wilson and Mr. E. "Woon were both low down on the poll, but the latter candidate, no doubt, weakened his position by being nominated for the election to come off on the 18th. Although the contest was a very warm one, it was conducted from first to last with great good temper. There were three men to return from seven candidates, and four of these must of course loose. There was no solution for overcoming this difficulty. The friends of the winning candidates, after the poll, expressed themselves to the effect that they were certain from the start of laeing on the winning side, although before the poll there were a great many doubts as to the certainty. Those who were not returned gave am pie. -reason why they were unsuccesful, and were not backward in attributing motives. This is allowable on such occasions ; but there is no doubt it was a contest fairly 'fought out from first to last on the merits of the respective candidates. It is of course vejcy annoying for a man to lose a coveted place by the casting vote of a returning officer, and the victory is not a very great one where a candidate is returned for the same reason. We have now got a Council of very good men, and whichever two of the four candidates "are returned at the next municipal encounter will do anything but disgrace it.

WEjiave often been told how the public moneys go in New Zealand. We can now show how the public lands go. A return has just been published showing the pastoral leases in the Canterbury districts. Here we find Mr. MurrayAynsley (of Miles and Co), holding 15,722 acres at £237 rent ; the Bank of New South Wales 34,983 acres, at £1200 rent; Mr. George Gould (who lately said he possessed not any such landed estates) 81,481 acres; Matheson's Agency, 48,992 acres ; New Zealand Loan and Trust Co., 105,419 acres ; New Zealand Loan and Merchantile Agency— of which Mr. C. C. Bowen is the Canterbury manager and " paid servant" — 646,547 acres ; and the Union Bank of Australia 34,701 acres. A contemporary is in a position to state that before coming before the electors of this district, Mr. Bowen, whose time is not his own, being as he is the manager of a money lending Company in question, had to make arrangements with the Company to be enabled to contest a seat in Par-, liament. * The loss of Mr. Bowen's services in the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Offie, the Company shrewdly thought, might be more than compensated for by the support which he, as a member of the House, might indirectly give the Institution, and especially so, should Mr. Bowen once more become a Minister of the Crown. And so wags the world along, and it is thus that the dear old game of " scratch me and I'll scratch you" is being played.