CHRISTCHURCH CITY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6662, 7 December 1899, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH CITY.

The people of the colony will not need %o bo told that yesterday's election is one , of the lnovt memorable 'in the history of the colony. As fur as Christchurch itself is concerned, the final numbers as they went Tip e:\n htrve liien little short of amazing. ,2»othintj that htis occurred during the campaign pointed to so overwhelming a majority for Mr W. W. Collins. The most san<ruine supporters of that politician, confident that lie would head the poll, never for one moment dreamed that he was to leave bis nearest riv;\l more -than a thousand votes behind. Those who were best .able io ir-ia^s the strength of followings anticipated that- the ihree"successful candidates would secure '" places," but no one could be certain. The prohibitionists were known -to hii-vo ,1. strong, solid basis on which to work, and it, combination of Prohibition and Conservatives mrghfc have given either 3lr Smith or Mr T. E. Taylor a place. That combination, of course, was never consummated. Mr Ell's election from the first seemed inevitable, for no man can work with head ;uid hands for years on end in the interests of the people without securing recognition of his labours. The most surprising feature in the contest after all, is not- Mr Coilin's wonderfully majority, noT vet rhe defeat of the Left Wing candidates; bnb it. is the t;reat fight made by Mr C. Taylor, the Labour candidate. That a> practically unknown -and untried man, beginning •his c-.impaip-n in halting, nervous fashion, should in the end give one of the most vi:goro:is .speakers and debaters in 'the colony a " clsise ran " is little short of marvellous. Bui then, yesterday was the day of maiTels. One is even inclined to be -surprised that •Mr- Lev>-i?j secured second plaxie. Election dry is. really a kind of gala day with thousands of people. They spend the morning speculating as to the result of the poll und the afternoon in preparing for the excitement of the evening. They go out in search of small preliminary excitement, and collect in little animated knots at street corner.-' oml near the polling booths, discu?sin-- the merits of the candidates of tilth 1 d:"lcL'. Some of them are boisterous, all of them talkative. It is the one dav in three years on which they talk politics to the exclusion of everything else. Yesterday they forgot even the vrar, which at one time thre:.teii£cl to render the elections in Christchv.tch an niuir of milk aT)d water. In years j!hp hr it wns the recognised rule for a section of the electors to misbehave themselves, or :U lon>t to be noisy and demonstrative during tits day. The enfranchisement of the women hn.s killed all that, and yesterticr's election in city and suburbs was as qukt und elderly as could possibly have been wished. The closing of the hotels t-urjTi'4 the afternoon had the effect of re-s-training th'i?e excitable and enthusiastic individual.- who would otherwise spend some li'!Uv.i in thinking success to their friends. Yet vM C.o.v long the city wore an air: of luvtli'. A it ranger must have discovered early Hint =cmething unusual was afoot. By uint: o'clock, when tha booths opened, the c;il-s c.v.d carnages engaged vn behalf or candidates were dashing down .sice streets and alleyways gsldoiii disturbed by such aristocratic equip^es. 'And a steady stream of voters commenced to How through the open doors of the liail.-. Tents had been erected outside the booths by the supporters of Con■<;rvativt' candidates and by the anti-pro-iii-iiuonist:- 1. At every booth tables had "Deen set up prided over by willing worker?, a'.ir.inus to help possible supporters itt ascen-.:i:!in£ their roll number?. "Dodgers" and "tickets'' wore everywhere to be seen, ar.dsc.-much "literature ""of this description T73-; pressed upon the long-suffering electors that nustake.3 and blunders at the ballotboxes were inevitable. The election produced the usual crop of stories concerning voters? who placed 'he useless guide-papers m the b^lot-boxes in lieu of their proper pansrs. As will be seen from the figures, the polling was not heavy, a fact accounted for by the absence of a' burning question. Three years ui>o the licensing issue was looked upon as part and parcel oi the political issue, but the two have now been practically revered. One or two booths were busy beyond expectations, notably the hall in Montreal Street, north, where the footpath and approaches were uncomfortably crowded on many occasions. As in previous years, the Provincial Council Chamber, the Opera Hoiu-t- iis Tuani Street, and tlve Mission Hall at Sydynham, were the centres of greatest activity. The arrangements made by the Ketnminrr-ofiiccr and his assistants were, for the most part, exceedingly effective, and at no time- did a serious block occur. A number of tin. 1 Pormanjc-nt Artillery were trottght up from Lyttelton to assist the police in regulating the admission of voters to the halls, and, with the addition of this E.taff, Inspector Broham was enabled to have some of his men at every booth in the city and suburbs! Practically all the business planes in the city were closed during the afternoon, and naturally polling became heavier'in all quarters. But the glorious runshir.e took many people away from the city to the seaside, and the afternoon was not marked by special excitement. The Suburban electorates, Avon and Riccn.rton, produced-two keen contests, the latter exceptionally so. In Avon the return of Mr A. E. G-. Rhodes was confidently anticipated, and it must be said that bis supporters fought with tremendous energy I r.nd enthusiasm. They had practically ail the/iiY l'.ibb!o vehicles att their disposal, and a host of willing canvassers and workers . mado untiring" efforts for their chief. But though ths outlying booths\were principally patronised by Conservatives, the sitting member had a solid faithful following in the central divisions, and as the event proved, Mr Tanner's past services were sufficiently widely recognised to give him the majority. Up till midday the Conservatives milled' at. the rate of two. to one against the Lib^r.-.if, but they exhausted the efforts early, and during the afternoon ths conscientious Labour representative overtook his rival at the main booths. Nevertheless, so tough a contest was a> new experience for him, and excitement rau high at times in the electorate. Riccarton provided the keenest and closest tight in the colony, but the excitement was nob marked during the dav. because it. was impossible to tell how the outlying districts were going. Progress reports concerning the country constituencies came to hand at intervals through the dav, and it was evident that the doubtful teats- were Ellesmere and Selwyn. From the far north came accounts which showed that- Mr Meredith's return was regarded as certain for. Ashley, and there was therefore no ei'.Uf-e for excitement in his district. At Kaiapoi and Runifiora. the Parliamentarypoll had to give way in interest, to the licensing poll, and both sides_ worked inde-

fatigably. Indeed, ib was recognised that Kaiapoi would come within very little of cam-ing "no license." Tue contest between Mr Buddo and Mr Moore was fairly keen, but at most places the former bad a little in hand. Towards seven o'clock the city and suburbs assumed a less animated appearance, j and for an hour there was quite a lull. But j the evening was fine and cool after the warm day, and great crowds soon began to pour into" the centre of the city. The points ! of attraction were the two newspaper offices, bnt by half-past eight the scene at the back of the " Lyttelton Times" Office in Cathedral Square eclipsed anything that had previously been seen in Christchurch in the way of an election crowd. Cathedral Square, from Colombo Street to Warner's Hotel and from the Cathedral to Hobbs's Buildings, was converted into a sea of upturned faces, for above the bindery department of the " Lyttelton Times " had been erected a large screen, on which returns were thrown by means of the oxy-ether light, and at the same time a standing record of all figures was made on the wall of the building facing the Square. The arrangements made for conveying the results to the people ■were elaborate and complete, butthe results fully rewarded the enterprise of the proprietors. A cyclist express service brought in returns from all booths immediately they were available, and the numbers were thrown on the screen immediately by Mr Crook's lantern. It wns now that the real excitement commenced. As result after result appeared it was evident that the Liberals had gained a -great and glorious victory throughout the colony. Each successful victory brought cheer after cheer from the assembled multitude. The announcement of Mr Tanner's election was the signal for a tremendous demonstration.. ' The only unpleasant features in the proceedings were the defeat of Mr Montgomery for Ellesmere and the unsatisfactory nature of the poll at Riccarton. The closeness of the result there gave rise to all kinds of rumours, and, indeed, it has yet to be discovered who is the successful candidate. Later, as it became evident that Mr W. W. Collins had scored a great victory for Liberalism in the city, the excitement and cheering grew in intensity, until when the final result was announced it seemed that the jubilation of the crowd would have no end. Mr Ell's success was also tremendously popular, and in the mingled demonstrations of approval and disapproval regarding Mr Lewis's return, the cheers eventually drowned the groans. The scene was repeated as several candidates made their appearance on an elevated platform before the crowd, Mr Collins and Mr (J. Taylor being especially' well greeted. A few eggs were thrown, but for the most part the crowd was oi-derly and well-be-haved. By midnight the people began to .move homewards, and an hour later a few jubilant roisterers had the streets to themselves. The election results were also an-, nounced at the Theatre Royal, where there was a fair audience, and at the Choral Hall, where tbe prohibitionists had gathered in force. At tlfc latter place an air of gloom settled over the people as the night proceeded, and not even the success of Mr Ell could make up for the cleTeat of the champions of the cause, Messrs Smith and Taylor. The following are the returne as far as they are at present available : — I