The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 9291, 18 January 1892, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY.

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, JLB92. The death of a young prince, tho eldest son of tho Hoir -Apparent, has thrown the British nation into mourning. - It was but the other day that Princo George of Wales was ill, nigh unto death, and his convalescence had but barely been cabled out when wo learnt of his brolhor. tho Duko of Clarence and Avondale, being attacked with influenza. Ho was taken ill on January 7th, and so rapidly did the sickness develop itself that in Beven days ho was a corpse. There is something sad about tho death of this young man,- who was shortly to be married, and to enter into training for tho duties which some day.it <was expected ho would have to perform; but his death cannot be looked upon in thesamo light as the loss occasioned to the country when a distinguished man dies. The grief wo feel, then, is akin to that which we:experi nee when our personal friends aro taken from us, although we may have been Btrangers to the departed hero. Tho deceased young Prince never was bo strong or robust as his brother George, and his constitution being tried severely bo has succumbed to the disouse. Tho short lifo of the Duke of Clarence had been nearly an uneventful one. He entered the navy with his brother, and for three years Paw some service as they went with the flying squadron round the world. Tho Princes .visited. Australia in 1882, and stayed in Melbourne and Sydney some time. : Tho cruise over, tho Duko was sont to Cambridge, and. afterwards to Heidelberg University, whore ho oompleted his studies. He then went through a course of military training at Aldorflhot. It was ovident th» : Prince of Wales desired that his sons I should - see the ' world, for in 188? the Duko of Clarence went to India. The Duke of Clarence and Prince George, ia October last, paid a series of visits in Ireland, the fast of which was to Lord and Lady Carew at Castleboro, Enniscotthy, County Wexford. Their Royal Highnesses ihenproceeded to Dublin, returning home on- November 3rd. Prince George was attacked with typhoid fever,

and was removed to London in order that he ; might haye^ |he advantage of the best possible advice. v He ntf sooner recovered, however, than hia brother was laid on a bed of Bickness, from which he never again roae. It was only a few weeks since the nation was rejoicing over the young Prince's betrothal to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, and now the people are lamenting his doith. The 1 sympathies of the whole pation, we feel sure, are with tho Queen and tho parents of the 5^ young Duke, who have to mourn the lpsjth&jjr.have sustained. The Wellington election has resulted in the return of the -Government nominee. i As nearly seven thousand persons recorded their votes, the majority 'for the winning candidate of 151 is certainly a very small one; and considering the support given by Ministers and tho influence brought to bear on the members of tlie Civil service in Wellington, the victory, we should say, is far from satisfactory to the parties concerned. ■ A victory is worse than a defeat .if it is secured at too' dear,, a price. The Ministers to secure voteß have had to Bay many things in public which will tend to bring about theic downfall when the : r statements are challenged in the House of Representative Wellington, ,we feel sure, is'not proud of the member it lias returned to Parliament, for .the newly elected goes there, as one of our. contemporaries says, as " a mere empty -.voting machine, whose opinions are to be dictated to him." Tbe Wellington citizens, however, fought hard,' but they had great odds against 'them in the shape of an influenced army of civil servants. We have more, than onco mid" 'that the seat of Governrae'nt should* be disfranchised ;' or, at all .events, the Civil Service there should be debarred from exercising thoir vote at election time. In a fierce contest like the one that has ; recently taken place it put those who are in Government employ in tin 'invidious position; If tho Ministerial nonimee had not been returned, there would havo been a numberof marked men, whoso services would sura-to have been dispensed with. The Government, therefore, unduly influences votes, which renders the ballot box next to a farce. Had the winning candidate been returned by a majority of: a six or seven hundred it would have shown that a large portion of the public had a say in tho election ; as it is the present member for Wellington has been placed in his present position by the Civil Service vote, for had it not been so, Mr Bell would havo secured the seat, \We do not think the prestige of tho Ministry has been improved by this election ; and we are certain that fho" 'colony will bo in no way benefited by the result.