THE HARBOR BOARD LOAN.

Poverty Bay Independent, Volume I, Issue 5, 4 April 1885, Page 2

THE HARBOR BOARD LOAN.

THE POLLING DAY

Punctually at the legally specified time, and the first to make their appearance at the Polling Booth, were the two local representatives of the great Twin Pawn Shop establishments. These were soon followed by many others, and at to o’clock upwards of 100 had recorded their votes. During the next hour, the Returning Officer had a few intervals of rest, and by 11 o’clock 150 votes were registered. After this business became a little brisker', and at one o'clock 242 votes had been dealt with; at 1.45, 288; at 3.30, 380 ; at 2.5, 396 ; at 4-45, 435 5 at 5.5 444 ; and at the close of the poll door the grand total of 479 votes had been recorded. Early in the morning, and before the polling had commenced some of the most energetic members of the Board Committee were afoot. Traps were out and members told off to attend to the means for locomotion of voters in every part of the town, whilst the energetic efforts of a strong-lunged and vocifeerous bellman warned all of the importance of the occasion and supplemented his arguments by freely distributing an Independent “special” (which appears in another column). 'Too much praise cannot be accorded to those members of the committee who, setting aside all business matters, generously devoted the whole of their time and energies to the one sole absorbing task of bringing every soul they possibly could to the Polling Booth. Amongst the most conspicuous and deserving of special mention are Messrs. J. R. Scott, FL Lewis, S. Stevenson, S M. Wilson, Cannon, D. Page, T. |. Dickson, Matthewson, C. Smith, G. R. Moore, M. Hall, and Murchie. The first named gentlemen —J. R. Scott and S. Stevenson —were also instrumental in collecting upwards of X" 100 towards the guarantee fund. Were it not for the exertions of such men as those above enumerated it is scarcely possible that we should have had the pleasing task of recording such a successful poll. With respect to the solitary vote recorded against the loap, we hear that

two well-known gentlemen dispute the unenviable honor of being the singular individual—the exception. Although the excitement between the closing and declaration of the poll was great, yet there was a general feeling of security, - and perfect confidence that all was well. As a proof of the exertions which the committee whips made, we may state that it was only possible to have got six more voters in the town. <»n the result of the polling being officially declared, the greatest enthusiasm was evinced, and cheer after cheer rang forth, whilst a general rush was made towards our late member, Mr. Allan McDonald, and’ “the people’s man ” was speedily elevated to the shoulders of some of his stalwart supporters, and borne, h’gh aloft, to the Albion Club Hotel, and from thence to the Masonic, where he, in response to continuous calls, addressed some welltimed remarks to the surrounding crowd, and which were received with deafening applause. Afterwards, at t! e Argyll Hotel, he said that he could n< t express the great satisfaction which l.e felt at the result of the day's polling. Three years ago he had told them that the Grey party had guaranteed that Gisborne should have a harbor, and . while he was exhausting every possible effort in order to obtain one, every one poo-pooed the thing, and said he was ten years in advance of his time. But the result of that day's polling did not look as though such was the case, and all his words had come right. All the newspapers had hounded and cried down his efforts, until at last he had to put his foot on them. (Cries of Who would they really have to thank for the breakwater but Sir George Grey- -that veteran who had all his life been fighting in the cause of liberty and right, and for the interests and freedom of his down-trodden fellow men ; who had given the peop'e the power of selecting and sending to Parliament men of their own choice,

(Cries of “Hori Grey” and “hea 1 , hear,” with much applause.) He (tl e speaker) did not say this against M>, Locke, who undoubtedly had the interests of the district at heart, and had done all he possibly could towards assisting us in getting a harbor. He strongly urged upon all the necessity which existed to accord every support, and strengthen by every means the hands of our member, for if we did mt do so we should get nothing for our district. It was his intention, if it was the wish of the people, to come forward at the next election (loud and deafening cheers). If he was again returned (cries of y< u will, you will,) he would always do his very best for the district. At the mxt election he hoped that the best man would win ; and he would ask them to always remember the Party who gave, them the power to vote (cheers). Had’ the Atkinson Party remained in power we should never have got a harbor, or anything else; whilst Sir George Grey had alwrys done his utmost for the district (cheers), and it was owing to his exertions that we were at this time so far advanced towards the attainment of pur object. He felt certain that in three

years from this we should be in possession of a fine harbor and our progress and prosperity assured, (great applause). Mr, T. J. Dickson, in the course of a few well chosen remarks, said that he had been agitating and pushing for a breakwater ever since he came to the Bay (hear, hear). He had long ago pinned his faith to the good and grand oid man, who alone had been fighting the big battle of freedom in these Islands and whose whole life had been devoted to the benefit and good of his fellow man (cries of “the Grey horse, you can't rub him out"). T hey had to thank Sir G. Grey for the harbor (hear, hear) which had been promised to Mr. Allen McDonald years ago. The speaker finished amidst great applause and three cheers for Sir George Grey, and “ advance G sborne.” Mr. Burton next adressed them, and in a moT eloquent speech set forth the present position of the working classes. He also said that he was proud to say that a member of the Working Men's Association had been nominated to the important position of a seat at the Harbor Board.

In replying Mr. Matthewson said he was justly proud of being a member of the Association. He would not hear a word against Mr. Locke, who had done his best for the district, but at the same time he could assure them that he would, at the next election, vote for Mr. Allen McDonald (hear, hear). He was a firm believer in the “ Grey Horse" and would stick to it. (cheers).

Captain Ferris, Mr. Locke, Mr. C. Smith and others also spoke. At the conclusion three cheers were given for Sir G. Grey, Allen McDonald and the Harbor Board.

The following appeared in our special edition an Thursday last:— The pregnancy of the occasion renders it incumbent on us to take every possible opportunity of advocating the one great and truly vital question on which alone our future well-being and pro gress depends, and we therefore avail ourselves of the last occasion which offers itself. In doing this we feel constrained to call aitent on to those pusillanimous product'ens of arrogance and selfishness which disgraced the columns of our contcmpora’y on Tuesday evening last, and wh ch had for their sole object the slandering of the workers and public-spiiit-‘d men of this town, who, by their soie efforts and untiring exertions, have unselfishly sought to benefit all and every one alike—even the vipers who now seek to sting the breast which has warmed and fostered them. Read the “emphatic protest" of “ County Ratepayer the frivolous and far-fetched quibbles of “G. S. Whitmore." Are they not teeming with concentrated selfishness, ami - coming as they do at the present critical juncture of our struggles —display a most disgraceful want of public spirit and generosity on the part of. one at least, and from whence such antagonism would scarcely have been expected. As for ” Critic,'' his attempt to be funny at the expense of an anxiousand struggling community, would, were

nought else added, dub him to be one of those shallow-pated hybrids who always find amusement in others’ agony and trouble; but when he designates our present struggle as an attempt to raise a loan “for the relief on a large scale of a pauper townf we can only regret that we are not in possession of his name, so that it might be held up at the present time, and handed down to future Poverty Bay posterity with the same amount of notoriety as that so well earned by Judge Jeffries. We have touched upon these letters in the hope that by so doing we might be enabled to show how little sympathy, and how much opposition we shall meet with from certain quarters, and also in order to incite an amount of wholesome antagonism and determination to succeed in the breasts of those earnest local patriots who, by a successful consummation of their endeavours, will justly earn the esteem and gratitude of all good and thoughtful men. In conclusion, we unhesitatingly assert that, for townsmen or countrymen —and we would impress the fact upon all men, let him be voter or non-voter —no possible better investment could ever be made than that of agreeing to a vote which, even at the maximum rate, will shortly give such a rich retnrn for so insignificant an outlay —a veritable ■ ‘ sprat to catch a mackerel ! ”