THE Temuka Leader SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1901. THE CAVERSHAM ELECTION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 3834, 21 December 1901, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1901. THE CAVERSHAM ELECTION.

The result of the Caversham election cannot be regarded as giving auy clear idea of the state of public feeling with regard to the Government. If it does anything it indicates that the public are as much in favor of the present Government as ever. Mr Sidey naa been classed as an Independent with a strong leaning towards the Government. He is a lawyer, mayor of the town,and his father is very wealthy and owns a great deal of property in the place. Besides this he is very popular, we beheve a native of the town, and of course, all things being equal, the public generally lean towards the local candidate. That he lives and moves and has his being in *he district is always greatly in favor of a candidate. The next on the list is Mr Earushaw, who certainly occupies a position which very few expected. He posed as an Independent, but his independence was well understood to mean violent opposition to the Government. His whole political career goes to prove this. He was first of all elected for what was practically the same district, with the exception that there was more of the town and Jess of the country in it then. He was then a labor member, and for a time worked assiduously with the Government party. Next he stood and was elected as oue of the three members for Dunedin city. He had previously to this affected independence, and when re-elected on that ticket he became the most violent and bitter of the opponents of the Government. There can be no doubt that his political downfall is due to Sir Robert Stout. That gentleman was then in Parliament, and as will be remembered became the bitterest opponent of Mr Seddon. Sir Robert Stout’s opposition was of a personal nature. He ooosidered that on the death of the late Mr Ballanoe he was the legitimate heir to the premiership, but the Liberal party declined to recognise his c airns. Mr Seddon held the premiership temporarily from the death of Mr Ballanoe in April until Parliament mot, when a caucus of the Liberal party unanimously appointed Mr Seddon as their leader. From that day henceforward Sir Robert Stout conceived an intense hatred of Mr Seddon, and left no stone unturned to compass his down fall. Amongst the atones he turned with this object iu view Mr Earnshaw turned up. Mr Earnshaw is a mecbanicalengiueer, with a good deal of the gift of the gab of the viti iolio kind. Be is as bitter as an asp, and does not hesitate to descend to the low est possible level. Nothiug is too low for him to say. Besides this he is one of the vainest and most conceited men that ever entered Parliament, and Sir Robert Stout worked on his weaknesses, and Mr Earnshaw became Sir Robert’s henchman 'they saton the same seat, and anything which Sir Robert regarded as beneath him, he got Mr Earnshaw to do or say, and so the latter became the bitterest, and the most unreasonable and unreasoning opponent of Mr Seddon. Next session he was defeated for Dunedin, after which he removed to Wellington, where he carried on the business of a mechanical engineer iu a small way. Ever since he has tried his luck every time he got the chance in Wellington, and always made a dismal failure of it. This time ha conceived that he had only to offer himself for Caversham to be elected, but no one eUe believed that he had the slightest chance. Still, the fact that he appeared so well at the poll proves that the old Conservative party is just as active as ever. They did no* trouble about Mr Earushaw’s antecedents ; they knew that if elected he would joia the HutchesonPirani party, and do all in his power against the Government. Mr Earushaw did not trust altogether to the Conserva tive electors. He promised to support the Government when they were right. This was a sop to Governmentanpporters, and he appealed to religious prejudices by stating that the public service was stuffed with Roman Catholics, and that there was a solemn agreement entered into and made between the Ministry and the authorities of the Catholic Church that in consideration of receiving the unanimous Catholic support, Catholic school grants would be given as soon as the Government could do it. Any decent minded man will, we trust, deprecate arousing religious feuds like this, but it is iu such low, contemptible things like that, Mr Earnshaw revels. He cares nothing whether the statement is true or false, nor will he attempt to give proofs when called upon to do so. Mr Hally,.the third on the list, is a working bootmaker, who was literaily dragged into the contest by the Tradesunionists When a couple of years ago Mr J. A. Millar vacated his seat on the Dunedin Conciliation Board, Mr Hally was elected in his place, and since then he has filled that portion in a manner that won approval of employers and employees. He has been represented as extremely fair and just, and when he was announced as a candidate the Court of Arbitratinu, consisting of Judge Cooper Mr Brown (employers’ representative), and Mr Slater (employees’ representative), sent him a telegram wishing him suc-ess, and bearing testimony to the jreat capacity he displayed as a member ' af the Board, also to his unvarying regard 1 :or even-handed justice and fair play. 1 rhis was the man selected by the TradesUnions, aud forced into the contest much ; igainst his inclinations. He declared ' limself a Government supporter, and j aeiug selected by the Trades Unions it i vas supposed that he stood first chance. , It any rate, the idea was that it would ] lave been a close run between himself i md Mr Sidey, and Mr Earnshaw would ; >e nowhere. But Mr Hally carried heavy < landicaps. In the first place, he is a i Sloman Catholic, and hence Mr Barn > haw’s appeal to rel'gious prejudices. 1 Chat iu itself always constitutes a very 1 erious handicap. Next, several other 1 Jniom'sts aspired to be selected iu place , if Mr Hally, and, of course, were dis- J ippointed at being overlooked. They j 00, ns well as their friends, worked f gainst him. He also did not live in the j listrict, and this constituted a disadvan- i age, aud finally, the Labour Party are ■ lot as popular as they were Bume time ago. 1 Phese were very heavy handicaps which ] ilr Hally had to carry, aud consequently ( iis defeat cannot be said to indicate auy ’ ailing off in the popularity of the Go'eminent. Some people may put it down j s an indication of the waning influence c f the Labour Party, but we certainly do ] lot think so. In the first place they had ’ powerful candidate to fight in Me Sidey. 1 1

Ue had wealth, influence, and popularity on his side, while the Trades Unions' candidate was handicapped in the noannar already described. The election, therefore, gives no clear indication one way or the other. If it had been a stand up fight between the Government and the Opposition, there could be no doabt as to the result. Bat where there are so many candidates, issues get confused, and nothing is clear. The election does not affect the state of parties in Parliament, for Mr Sidey is more Ukely to be on the side of the Government than against them.