FRANKLIN.

Observer, Volume XVIII, Issue 1092, 2 December 1899, Page 9

FRANKLIN.

Does it Want a Man of Sttaw ?

The question is quite pertinent. Finlay Wilson, who, at the last moment has been brought ont by the Gcvernment to contest the Franklin seat with the sitting member, W. F. Massey, is a political stuffed man. What Btake has he in- the district, or in the conntry for the matter of that? None, beyond the fact that the Sydney insurance office which employs him sent him to Auckland last year to open an agency here. He has been all thtnga by tnrn and nothing long— clergyman, lawyer's clerk, pressman, and now insurance agent. Are his political convictions more than skin-deep ? If so, what about the reports that 18 months ago he applied for the secretaryship of the National Association ?

In fact, Mr Finlay Wilson is leading a forlorn hope for the Government in the endeavour to oust Mr Massey from the Franklin seat. He was brought out at the eleventh hour because they were in sheer desperation, and could not find any other candidate who was foolish enough to attempt each a hare-brained enterprise. But it would not do to let such a vigilant and formidable opponent as Mr W. F. Massey have a clear walkover. Mr Massey is admittedly one of the ablest members of the House, and it is in recognition of that fact that his party chose him for their Senior Whip. He is also the strongest and moat determined champion in the House of Auck land's interests. Behind all that lies the fact that he is a practical farmer, and that his private interests are bound up with those of Franklin. If the Franklin people have any gumption or ordinary commonBense, then it is all Lombard-street to the proverbial china orange that Massey must head the poll by a thumping majority.