The Star. FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1901. THE ELECTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7154, 19 July 1901, Page 2

The Star. FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1901. THE ELECTION.

Eveii that pathetic teinnant of the crusted Golis«i"vative' patty; ' the few remaining stragglers of tfiat ndbh- army of martyrs who were prepared to shed the last drop of their country's blood in their own. cause, must find starvation* staring them in the face. • They ihave subsisted scantily for years past upon a lean dietary of patience, leavened 1 with a little hope, but even this nourishment is now' denied them. The colony has grown a world too large for their shrunken* policy. The one tale told by yesterday's city election is the <jft-told - story of moribund Conservatism. A more emphatically certain diagnosis it would be hard! to achieve, for if the spectacle of one of the most important electorates of the colony discussing a byelection in terns of three Liberal candidates only is not evidence of the growing decrepitude of the Opposition, it is a sufficiently suggestive symptom to satisfy most people. Apart from its significance in this ; respect, the ©lection points few morals. It w/as a tourney rather than a triangular- duel* a" la mort,' for the three candidates standing pledged to a. general support of the Government could fight only -with the buttoned foils of shades of opinion; j Their differences wers r unintei'esting, and confronted with a** embarrassment oi riches — or a choice of evils, according to tlis inevitable poinb of view— a large proportion of the electors left the problem of Tweedledum \\ Tweedledee . severely alone. The result was a pell of 9800 votes out of a" roll of 17,355, and even of the votes caisfc many were admittedly used at haphazard as the least troublesome method of securing retention upon • 'the electoral roll. The smallness of the po'.l is indeed distinctly complimentary to the candidates, indicating as it does that none of them were bad enough to vote against. The cognoscenti, freeing themselves from personal predilections, early counted 1 the public jpulse, and foreshadowed the absolute result of ths election with singular correctness. The return of 'Mr Smith, who has previous Parliam&ntary. experience to assist him in representing the constituency for the short period: Parliament has to run, is probably as satisfactory a solution of this unique problem of selection as could have been arrived at. Among the side lights which the contest has cast it may be noted with satisfaction that the people ihave once more expressed with marked emphasis their objection to any hand being laid upon our system of education. The little value attaching to the securing of the block votes | of secular or religious organisations has. ,0180 again been demonstrated, and the necessity has been emphasised for a reform of the system of voting whki /will obviate ' .minority representation. i'or the rest---"tdie candidates were pleasantly .generous 1 and fair-minded in the conduct of the cam- ! paign, and quite overwhelmingly compliißaentary and felicitous in speaking their little pieces at the declaration of the poll.