THE WELLINGTON ELECTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7179, 14 January 1892, Page 3

THE WELLINGTON ELECTION.

! fPKB PBKSB ASSOCIATION.! ■ i " WELLINGTON, Jan. 14. ; The latest incident in the election struggle has been the quotation by -rtr M'Lean of I figures purporting to thow the difference " between the amount of taxes now paid l oy , the Bell family and others and what they would have to pay under the Land and Income tax. Mr Bell admitted the accuracy of the figures, but attacked, in scathing terms, the breach of secrecy, declaring that the information could be got only from 1 the Property tax returns. He exonerated i; the Commissioner, however 5 and Mr ' Crombie himself declareß that no Minister i has ever had access to the information in ' the department, or would be allowed to see ' it if he applied. Mr M'Lean has been » challenged by his opponents to say where ; he got the figures from, and is understood . to give a Dunedin paper as hia authority. . Mr Bell addresses a meeting in the Opera ' House for the last time to-night, and Mr ' M'Lean, assisted by Mr Hogg, M.H.R., ; holds an open-air meeting. i Followers of Mr M'Lean are betraying increased boldness as the convincing day draws near. Until recently the betting was in favour of Mr Bell.butyesterday and to-day , a marked change came over affairs, slight 1 odds on Mr Bell being readily accepted. It was said that one wager of £150 to £100 was laid. The betting is now pratically even, and Mr M'Lean's supporters are extremely confident. Mr Ball's fiiends, • however, are eager for the poll. j Mr 51' Lean's explanation of how he : obtained the figures about the taxation of certain properties is that he took the Government return, published in 1889, and worked out the calculations himself. They : appear to be approximately correct in some j respects, but in others Mr Ball does not I 'admit their accuracy.