THE PELORUS GUARDIAN, AND MINER'S ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, April 28th., 1899. Opposition v. Government.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 10, Issue 32, 28 April 1899, Page 2

THE PELORUS GUARDIAN, AND MINER'S ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, April 28th., 1899. Opposition v. Government.

Repeatedly have the Opposition attacked the Government policy, and endeavoured, through a series of years, to wilfully mislead the electors on questions of great importance to the country, but without producing anything like the mischievous effect they wished to do. Although quite a threatened invasion of the Liberal ranks was promised by some of , the leading members of the Opposition just before the session closed last year, it has all dwindled down, during the recess, to a mere repetition of stale and distorted untruths, disseminated by narrow-minded politicians of the John Duthie stamp, who preached their political gospel on the West Coast and in Nelson, without making sure of his evidence first. The consequence is that Mr. John Graham, M.H.R. for Nelson, when speaking there last week, literally turned Mr. Duthie’s figures inside out, and showed conclusively to his constituents that it would be more than a “ rotten reed ” to depend on if they placed any reliance on such wilful mis-statements for their guidance, especially when coming from those who would go almost any length to throw discredit on the Government. Mr. Graham replied to Mr. Duthie on all points worth noticing, and, in each particular case, with such an array of logical facts and figures that he scored heavily every time, and, for once, even his erstwhile bitter political opponent, the Nelson Evening Mail , had to eat “humble pie,” and acknowledge that their Member had done his duty. We have not sufficient space to refer to the many good points Mr. Graham made in his speech, but it showed a comprehensive grasp of the financial position of the Colony, and it was a direct refutation of the many untruths made by Mr. Duthie in his speech, and a good honest defence of the Liberal party, to which the Member for Nelson belongs. His constituents in this part of the electorate will now be looking forward with interest to his promised address in Havelock.